Kaidou in Triplicate

By Washumomo

I do not own POT, but I do love it.

Chapter 1: The Mission: Find Him

Lin smiled at the angelic faces of the three toddlers sleeping in their car seats as the rental limo approached the family home of her their father. June was extremely hot in Japan, but the day was beautiful, nonetheless. She hoped the triplets would be cool enough in their polos and shorts.

"Lin-san", called Kyo, her temporary driver, "we're almost at the address you gave me. I hope you find Little Kyo's father here. You've come such a long way to find him."

"I hope so to Kyo-san. It's taken me a long time to track down anyone even close to him. I'm going to leave them here in the car with you until I've had a chance to find out if he's here. Their still sleeping and I don't want to take them out into this heat until I have to.

"Gotcha. I'll keep an ear out for them and let you know if one of them wakes up."

"Thank you Kyo." Lin sat back against the seat and gazed lovingly at the three sleeping little boys. Morgan Keiichi, the eldest son, though slightly smaller than the other two. Ryan Kentaro, the second born, her little entertainer. And Jordan Kyosuke, her baby. They were identical triplets, 14 months old and they had all the looks of their father and nothing of her. To anyone who didn't know, and very few in Japan did, the triplets looked as if they were the product of an Asian couple. There were no African-American features anywhere on these three boys. When asked if she were babysitting or 'the nanny' she would say 'No, I'm their mother. They look like their father; I just provided the womb.' That usually got a big laugh.

'Yeah, they look like a man who doesn't even know they exist', she thought to herself. 'I've been trying for almost two years to track him down. Why did I suggest we not exchange contact info? I didn't want him to leave, definitely wanted to see him again, even if I didn't know when that would be. He had wanted to keep in contact, to write and to call, but no, I had to cut all ties, avoid a long distance relationship. That idea sucked sushi…big time.' I'm such an idiot.'

She had recorder every tournament, every interview and every televised appearance he had made in the two years he had been gone. She wanted their boys to know their father despite his absence. They knew his face, the sound of his voice, that hissing sound he made when he was irritated; now that really tickled the boys and they imitated him constantly. They would stare at the television intently watching him play tennis. They cheered when he won and hissed when he lost a point. As far as she was concerned, the triplets were his miniatures.

"We're here, Lin-san", called Kyo the driver. He stopped the car in front of a large house on a quiet street. There was an elderly couple walking a dog, just passing the gate. A woman from inside stopped them to chat. She was wearing a gardener's smock and gloves and a wide-brimmed straw hat. She smiled as she talked to them; you could even hear it in her voice.

Lin checked the boys once more before leaving the vehicle. "Wish me luck, Kyo." The driver gave her a 'thumbs up' and a wide grin. Her heels sounded loud to her own ears as she stepped out onto the sidewalk. She closed the door and waited for the elderly couple to walk away before approaching the gate. The woman watched her curiously.

"Excuse me, Kaidou-san?" Lin asked hesitantly.

"Yes", Kaidou-san answered, "can I help you?"

"Good Morning, Kaidou-san, my name is Lin Tucker. I'm a-a friend of your son Kaoru. From America. We dated for a short period." She hands Kaoru's mother a picture.

"Oh yes, yes. Kaoru speaks of you often. We even have a picture similar to this in my living room. Come in, come in." She opens the gate and ushers Lin into the yard and towards the front door. "Let me get you some refreshments. Would you like some tea?"

Lin stops. "Thank you very much, Kaidou-san, but I have to ask you if you've seen or spoken to Kaoru lately? I've been trying to contact him. It's extremely important that I speak with him. You see", she looks back to where her children are sleeping, "I have something of his…in the car."