Many thanks to Stephane (stephanericherthanyou on tumblr) for the hours put in brainstorming with me! (And beta-ing as well!) It was a lot of fun :)

Yeah so I have a lot of ideas for this AU, so I hope I can work quick enough with school and my job and college apps to be able to write this and get all my ideas out.


He's just put Haruka to bed and is in the process of winding down himself when there's a knock on the door. Rising slowly from the overstuffed chair he's just gotten comfortable in, Kenjirou pads toward the front of the apartment. He can see a woman's face through the peephole—someone he doesn't recognize, which is interesting. They don't know too many people, and Mukasa's really the only one who visits regularly. Kenjirou opens the door.

"Finally," the woman says. "Do you know how cold it gets in Tokyo at night?" He blinks at her, brows furrowing slightly. Is he supposed to know this woman? "We've been outside for hours, trying to track this place down," she continues, rubbing her hands and blowing hot air into them. We? Kenjirou casts his eyes downward, where two very small, very quiet children (he didn't even notice them) are hiding behind the woman's legs.

Who are these people? Is what Kenjirou wants to know. "Would you like to come in?" is what he asks instead, opening the door wider and gesturing inside. The woman pushes her way in immediately, dragging the children behind her. He scowls a little at her brazen behavior, but doesn't comment.

"Thanks," the woman says, standing in the middle of the room like she owns it. He bends down to pick up some dishes off the coffee table, casting his eyes upward at her voice and catching her crooked smile. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Shibazaki?"

He's honestly at a loss. A woman he doesn't know in his apartment at 11 pm on a school night with two kids in tow. How is he supposed to act in this situation? She must sense his confusion, see it displayed on his face, because her eyes narrow in what seems to be smug satisfaction. "Am I really that forgettable, Kenjirou?"

The way she drawls his name is distantly familiar—a blurred memory from years ago almost resurfaces, but when Kenjirou tries to capture it, it fades away. The woman drops onto his couch and laughs. The taller of the children tenses and takes the shorter one's hand in his. They don't join the woman (their mother? their babysitter?) on the couch, choosing instead to retreat to the corner of the carpet and standing there. She doesn't try to invite them to come closer, so Kenjirou lets it lie.

"Don't you remember, Kenji? You used to call me up at all sorts of hours, so demanding!" She laughs again, but her eyes are cold. "You weren't very talkative, but it was some of the best sex I've had in years." A cold wave of terror washes over Kenjirou. Hazy memories start to surface. "I'm pretty surprised you don't remember," the woman continues. A name starts to form in his mind—Aiko? Asako? Aki? –but none of them seem to fit correctly. "I mean, it wasn't like it was a quick fuck or anything. We kept at it for a while—maybe two, three years? The last time was around three years ago, anyways." Shibazaki glances toward the children. The younger child, a girl, looks around three years old. Was she…?

"Do you really not remember?" He looks back toward the woman, who now seems a bit offended. She pouts and he sits up in realization.

"Akiho!" Kenjirou says suddenly, and the pout is replaced with a small smile. How often had he seen that look on her stupid face when she was trying to be coy and he was just waiting for a quick release? His face immediately shifts into a scowl, and she chuckles.

"That face is familiar! You always looked so mean when we were fucking! I seriously can't believe you barely remember any of it—we used to meet up in the weirdest locations, I swear to God—"

"My life was kind of a mess back then," Kenjirou cuts in. "I drowned myself in alcohol and sex and you weren't the only one I used." Her brows raise slightly at the word used but she doesn't comment. "What I don't understand is why you're contacting me now. I'm pretty sure I made it clear that we were to cut off all connections after that last time?"

Her laugh is infuriating, but he checks his anger and waits for the mirth to die down.

"Have you really not pieced it together yet?" She snorts, eyes alight. "I thought you were a detective, or something?"

"I am a detective, but I'm no mind reader," he says, anger seeping into his voice. But she's right. He's not stupid. Why else would she drag two toddlers around Tokyo when it's almost midnight?

"Hey, kids," Akiho says, standing suddenly and grabbing the children's upper arms. She thrusts both of them toward Kenjirou. "Say hi to Daddy!"

He's expecting it, but it's still a shock.

"How do you know they're my kids?" he asks, a bit desperately. "I mean, there could be others—"

"They're yours," Akiho says, smiling sweetly. "You were the only man I slept with during that period of time." He sits down heavily. Breathing is a problem, suddenly. Akiho keeps talking.

"The oldest is Arata, he's four, and then there's Lisa, she's two and a half. Kenji, I seriously cannot keep taking care of them. They're both so quiet, and they seriously never want to do normal little kid things like play with cars or dolls or anything. And Arata sometimes just looks at me, it's so creepy, it's like he understands everything I do and is judging me for it—"

"Are you seriously giving up these kids after four years, four years where you didn't even introduce them to their father, because you think they're weird?" He had honestly forgotten how shallow and dense Akiho was. Which is precisely the reason I kept calling her back, isn't it? She's easy. Even after all these years, Kenjirou still finds it hard to forgive himself for his past misdeeds—and now they've come back to change his life again.

"Not just because they're weird!" Akiho says loudly. "I can barely take care of them myself! I'm always out at work—" he snorts, and she glares. "At work, and I barely have any money to buy them new clothes or toys or anything. I mean, Lisa wears Arata's old clothes, and I get Arata's clothes from the neighborhood kids! So sad! But I remembered you were respectable and hardworking and you have money, so I figured I'll just leave them with you!" She smiles brightly and practically shoves their daughter at him. The girl stumbles and the boy, Arata, catches her quickly. They are both very thin. Kenjirou can see tears forming in little Lisa's eyes.

"Wait, wait," he says, because a new problem has arisen. "You said Arata is four? Four? How the hell did you keep him from me for those last two years? Why the fuck didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to end it!" Akiho whines. "So I never mentioned it! And if we headed to my apartment, I left him with neighbors!"

"I cannot believe you!" Kenjirou's trying not to shout—he doesn't want to wake Haruka, include a new factor into this mess. "I cannot believe you would do something so completely irresponsible—"

"Well, I'm taking responsibility now!" Akiho snarls. "They're all yours! I can't waste my life with this anymore!"

"Dumping them on me isn't 'taking responsibility'! You can't just come out of nowhere and drop two children into my life and leave!" He reaches to grab her wrist, stepping in between the toddlers. Lisa stumbles backward and falls on her bottom, but Arata smoothly moves out of the way. Akiho twists out of his way, quick even in heels. She snatches up her purse from the couch and runs toward his front door.

"They're all yours, Kenji!" she trills from the doorway, waving, and takes tries to maneuver around the kids (his kids) and chase after her, but he's too slow. By the time he's reached the stairs, she's leaped out the first floor door and is running toward a waiting motorcycle.

"AKIHO!" He shouts, desperate to be heard. She clambers on behind a mysterious rider and waves at him again. He can see her teeth flash. "AKIHO, YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE CHILDREN WITH SOMEONE WHO'S NOT THEIR LEGAL GUARDIAN—"

"IT'S OKAY!" She calls back, hands cupping her mouth. It's still hard to hear her. "I'VE TAKEN CARE OF THE LEGAL PROCESSES INVOLVED! I KNOW, RIGHT? PRETTY MATURE!" The cycle starts up, and Kenjirou can only watch helplessly as the two on the bike begin to ride away. "I'LL PROBABLY SEE YOU IN COURT, KENJI! GOOD LUCK WITH THOSE KIDS!" And with that, Akiho is gone.

When Kenjirou trudges back into his apartment, mind still reeling with the nights developments, Lisa is lying down on the floor with her head in Arata's lap. He's rubbing her back, a bit awkward in his childish movements, and his eyes are trained on Kenjirou. They both look afraid.

"Hey," Kenjirou says, crouching down. "Hey there, you two. Lisa and Arata, right?" Arata nods and Lisa blinks sleepily up at him. "Hi," he says, smiling gently at them. No matter what happened and whatever mistakes he and Akiho made, these children are not at fault. "My name is Shibazaki Kenjirou. I'm your father."

"Daddy?" Lisa inquires softly. She lifts her head off her brother's lap and fixes large, droopy eyes on him.

"Yes," he says, laughing a little. "I'm your daddy. Is that okay?" She nods, probably too tired to do anything else and he picks her up. She tenses a little, but he pats her back soothingly and she settles in his arms. "I promise, everything will be okay in the morning. Why don't I get you two to bed?" Lisa's answering yawn is enough confirmation for him, and he stands up and holds out a hand for Arata.

The boy looks at him, looks at his hand, and reaches up to take hold of Lisa's socked foot. Kenjirou glances backward to see two small pairs of shoes lined up at the door and hides a small smile. He leads them into his bedroom and settles Lisa onto the big bed. Arata stays standing next to her.

"You can sleep in the bed, too, Arata," says Kenjirou. He leans forward to help the small boy, but Arata shies away from his touch and clambers into the bed himself. Kenjirou knows not to push anything and instead goes to his closet and grabs two clean undershirts. Lisa's already almost asleep, so he quickly undresses and puts his shirt on her. He prays her pull-ups last the night. By the time he's done with Lisa, Arata's already put on the shirt (although it's backward) and put his clothes at the end of the bed. Kenjirou gathers up both Arata and his sister's clothing and puts in in the hamper while starts Lisa releasing little puffs of air through her nose—she's asleep.

He pulls the blanket up to tuck the two of them in, gesturing with his head that Arata should crawl under the covers as well. Hesitantly, the small boy eases himself under the comforter.

"Is Mommy coming back?" he whispers. Kenjirou has to strain to hear it. It's the first time he's heard the boy speak.

"I don't think so," says Kenjirou softly. "I'm sorry. But I'll take care of you and Lisa from now on. You can trust me, I promise."

"It's okay," says Arata. His eyes are blinking slowly—the resemblance to his sister is uncanny. "Mommy wasn't nice." Before Kenjirou can ponder that bit of information, Arata scooches over until he's flush against Lisa and rests his head on her shoulder. His eyes droop shut and his breathing evens.

Kenjirou's eyes prick a little bit, and he rubs his hand across his face hastily. He watches the siblings sleep peacefully and realizes that it's only been an hour, but he's already gotten attached. He thinks of Akiho and her shitty apartment and imagines these two huddled in the corner while she threw her life away in Tokyo night life. He notices how pale they are and how small their bodies seem to be. A flood of emotions wash over him, and he draws the blanket up tighter and places small kisses on each of their tiny foreheads. No matter what happens, he will fight to keep these kids.


ehhh hoped you all liked it! cross posted to tumblr and a03

come talk to me about znt on my tumblr! my username is didsw on both tumblr and ao3 (i would link it but idk how to do that)