A/N: I feel compelled to do this since it's 9/11. I can still emember the footages I've seen of the incident and I just had to imagine LCDO in the process so this is for the families of those 3,000 people that died on Ground Zero, WTC and the Pentagon.
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Tsukimori Kahoko or formerly known as Hino Kahoko hummed along the gentle tunes of her husband's violin that was played throgh her CD/DVD/VCD player-radio while relaxing in the comfy rocking chair her husband and her father-in-law had placed in the lilac-white-dark brown-themed room which would soon be their first-born's nursery room. The rocking chair, made from a sturdy oak, was originally Misa Hamai's when she had Len, had been kept as a momento of the memorial baby days back then by her mother-in-law. However, Misa had insisted that the chair was to be placed in the nursery room for their own first-born as she wanted her grandson-slash-granddaughter to have that piece of the father's past.
Kahoko chuckled as she eyed the other memento of the family, or more specifically, the Hino's. Her brother, Kaname, had come to their home with the oak crib and helped her husband set it up in the nursery room. She remembered that the crib has been in the Hino family for years, ever since her great-grandparents had her grandfather and has been passed over the family members for generations. The crib was last used on Kagami's daughter, Chikase, who is now a bubbly 2-year-old girl. And it warmed her heart just thinking that her husband, the amazing violinist/buisnessman, Tsukimori Len was coming home today from a buisness transaction in New York and spend the rest of her week being with her while she waits on her due date to come.
Thinking of her due date as she rubbed on her huge, very pregnant tummy subconsciously, she got up slowly and tried to waddle her way to the kitchen, suddenly craving for chocolate-covered pickles when the foyer's phone suddenly rang. Rolling her eyes irratately, she made her way to the kitchen's phone and picked it up before pressing the portable phone close to her ear while she got some choclate syrup and pickles out of her refridgerator.
"Hello?"
"Kaho."
"Len! Are you at the airport already? I'll go get ready later then and go have Katashi send me over." She chirped, dipping a pickle in the chocolate-syrupy delicousness. She then crunched on the snack, savouring the flavour while waiting for her husband to reply. Katashi was the Tsukimori's butler and had used to serve for Jun and his family back when Len was a young boy. Now, he serves for Len and their soon-to-be when he's almost 32, Katashi still provide the most excellent services the Tsukimori's have so far.
"Hunny, I'm not at the airport. I'mactually at the World Trade Centre." Len said breathlessly. The sound of stactic broke over their conversation and the loud noises from the other line were not helping her hearing at all. Placing the phone down and clicking the speakers into, use, she leaned against the counter while swirling the pickle in the choclote syrup bowl at the bar. The noises now sounded clearer and she noted that the noises sounded a bit too hysterical from normal.
"Len is everything okay there?"
"Kaho, listen to me. You remember that baby names we've been bickering over for weeks?"
"Yeah but-"
"Listen. When you give birth to a boy, please name him Ken. And if it's a girl, then you name her Kallen, okay?" Len interupted in a desperate tone. Kahoko then felt a strange dread entering her system. And she needs some reassurance from him to know that everything's gonna be alright.
"Len, what's going on there?" Kahoko demanded, trying to sound angry but she couldn't remove the frear from her tone no matter what she does. Len was silent for a moment before he spoke again.
"Kaho, I love you so very much. That night when we play the Ave Maria together was like a fairytale came true and I've never stop and forget how lucky I am to have you be the queen of my heart and my life. And our child would the testimony of our love together. Of the eternal love we have for each other. You're my one and only soul mates until death do us part. And we would be always together for eternity once both of us die no matter what. I'll always be with you even in death." Len said his self-written vows that he recited on their marriage in desperation, as if he would never speak it again.
"Yes I do know that Len! You know that I love you too but what is-!"
"Kahoko." Len chuckled.
"Len." Kahoko sighed, smiling despite still not being calm.
"I love you."
"I-I love you too. . ."
BLAST!
Kahoko was shocked when the line was cut off so suddenly. A sudden pain shot through her heart and she flinhed as she gripped her blouse where her heart is located. She felt a sense of loneliness and overwhelming despair entered her soul, as if her other significant self has just died.
Significant Self?
LEN!
Kahoko's feet gave way as she slid down the counter, tears flowing down her golden amber orbs like waterfalls as she cried all her pain and anguish out. She stayed there for a while, sobbing uncontrolllably when her in-laws, Jun and Misa Hamai found her. At the sight of her pregnant granddaughter crying, Misa rushed to her side, worried about the unborn baby inside the young woman.
"Kaho? Kaho why are you crying?" asked Misa as Jun moved to grab some Kleenex for his daughter-in-law.
". . . Len. . ." sniffled Kaho as she passed out, furthur causing Misa to shout hysterically at her husband to help her as she held her daugher-in-law close to her, praying to god that everything would be okay.
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Kahoko's eyes opened weakly to see her mother, Mitsuna, holding onto Misa as the famous pianist cried softly just to not wake her. Kahoko instantly knew why she was crying when she felt the raw agony running down her veins.
It must be true then.
Len is. . .
Gone.
She moved her hand to her stomach only to find it flat. No huge bulge of her baby. She shot up and cried out as she felt pain shooting up from her stomach, startling both older women out of their despair.
"Kaho, please don't move too much." Mitsuna went over to her daughter and ran her numb fingers throgh her fiery red hair; the exact opposite of Len's icy blue locks while Misa went out of the room silently. Kahoko's eyes wandered around the room wildly, trying to locate a reassuring sight that would tell her that her baby was safe but the white sterile room held nothing but dread to her mind.
"Mom where's the baby! My baby! Did I- Oh god! Please tell me I didn't lose him!"
"Kahoko! Calm down! You babies are safe!" shreiked Mitsuna for Kahoko to snap out of her trauma. Misa entered the room, carrying twin bundles in each of her arms. At the sight of her babies, Kahoko calmed down as she took in the wonderful sight.
Twins?
Len and I have twins.
Her clouded eyes became clearer when Misa sets the bundles of joys down into their mother's awaiting arms, whispering, "A boy and a girl." Her eyes flicked from one to the other as she fell in love with her children that Len and she had created. They were perfect with tuffs of lilac-blue hair growing on the boy and lilac-red tuff of hair on the girl's head and chubby identical cheeks. Her daughter's nose reminds her of Len's while her son reminds her of herself. All in all, it was the most perfect children she'd ever met in her life. And the fact that it was their children simply makes it more special to her.
"You had an early labour and the doctors had to perform a Caesarean operation on you to save your babies. That's why you need to go easy on your tummy, hun. The babies were born at 09 46 and 10 03 respectively." Misa adviced as she stood next to Mitsuna. Jun entered the room, with a solemn face. He siged heavily before he said.
"Misa, Mitsuna, Kahoko, there's something you should know. Len just died. There was a terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre and Len was in the building at the time. He was at the southern side of the building when the north side of the WTC was attacked by a hijacked commercial-sized airplane. The south was attacked 57 minutes later by another hijacked commercial-sized plane. I just found out earlier on the phone." Misa and Mitsuna broke down into a crying fit while Kahoko held the twin's like an anchor to reality.
"He. . . Len managed to call me earlier." All attention turned to Kahoko as she spoke. Kahoko just looked down at her babies, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.
"He said that . . . he wants to name the boy, Ken and the girl, Kallen. I didn't get why he was deciding the names at the time but apparently, he knew he just have to name them." Whispered Kahoko as tears trickled down her cheeks and to her babies' chubby cheeks, jolting them awake. Kahoko grinned sadly as her son opened his eyes slightly to reveal a pair of gold amber eyes; Len's eyes.
"Hello Ken Laxus Tsukimori. Hello Kallen Lazette Tsukimori. I'm your mommy." Whispered Kahoko to her kids as they gazed into her own brown amber eyes, filled with tears of joy. Suddenly, a chill went passed her and through her body and she swore she could hear Len speaking next to her in his sensual, deep voice.
"They're wonderful Kahoko. I love all of you."
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"Mom! Laxus stole my purple butterfly hairclip!" 10-year-old Kallen Lazette screamed, running downstairs in a pretty blue dress.
"Did not!" argued Ken Laxus as he came down in a sleek black tux, adjusting his bright red tie as he goes.
"Did to!" Lazette huffed, glaring at Laxus coldly. Laxus pulled his younger twin's hair up wordlessly and placed the said purple butterfly hair clip to hold it in place, making Lazette grin.
"Tsukimori Kallen Lazette and Tsukimori Ken Laxus. I want you two to go sit down silently now." Ordered Kahoko as she walked down in a long flowing black dress with a blue rose brooch pinned on her right chest, the symbol of the Tsukimori Family passed down through generations, which she was gifted by her In-laws.
"Yes Mother." They submitted simultaneously, shuffling to seat on the couch. Laxus and Lazette held each other hands just as they always do as they sat there, watching their mother skitter around to grab their coats and shoes.
"Lazzete, Laxus! Come and let's go! We don't want to be late to the cemetry now." Kahoko called out. Laxus and Lazette looked at each other before standing up and moving over to their mother, not letting go of one another as they go.
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Here lies Tsukimori Len Ignance.
4/24/1975 – 9/11/2001
An extrordinary violinist, a great son, a wonderful husband and a loving father.
Kahoko stared at the scriptive description as she prayed in front of her husband's grave with Ken and Kallen next to her, silent in their prayers. A year after the 9/11 incident in 2001, she opened the door of the Tsukimori manor to see a US soldier, holding a box that contained her husband's ashes. Her husband was among the 3,000 lives lost that day and they were sending the victims that have been burned into ashes for transport, back to their families. That same week, she took her kids to see their father to the cemetry and watched as her husband was buried in the Tsukimori Family Cemetry as all his ancestors did.
"Mom?" Tugged Lazette at her mother's dress. Kahoko turned her attention to her daughter.
"Yes Kallen?" asked Kahoko.
"Can we have yoghurt later for our birthday? We don't want any birthday cakes this year." Ken inquired, still holding on his twin's hand.
"Yeah, sure Ken. I know of a place your dad used to go to eat yoghurt." Kahoko chuckled melancholically.
"Really mommy? Daddy loves yoghurt like we do?" squeled Kallen, holding her brother's hand in a vice grip.
"Yes. Though he loves plain yoghurt like Laxus' most." Kahoko grinned in amusement. Her daughter is very attached to her elder twin. If Lazette is the sun, then Laxus is her moon. Kallen's the light of the twin and Ken is the dark side. Both balanced each other splendidly much like how Len and she did together.
"Yay! Come on mommy, Grandma Misa, Grandpa Jun! We're going to get yoghurt!" cheered Lazzete as she ran ahead with her twin silently running next to her. They shivered when they felt as if something passed through them and both turned to see a translucent sillhouete of a man that they've always seen in pictures and videos as well as their dreams, standing next to their mother. His translucent blue hair danced in the wind as he leaned against his own tombstone.
"I'm proud of you two." Len said before he held on Kahoko. Both watched as silvery smoke came out of the ghostly figure and entered the family brooch that their mother was wearing ever since their father died. Laxus turned to his sister in awe and said, "That was. . ."
"Dad." Continued Lazette breathlessly. Both grinned before shouting. "Last one in the car gets to treat us!" and running off to the direction of the car. Both Ken and Kallen knew that their father will always be with their mother even if he's dead and that event earlier proves that he'd always been right next to her. And that he's been watching his family from the beginning of their lives and would never cease to do so until they found their own happiness.
The End.
A/N: I'm so happy I finished this. I planned on a sad ending but I couldn't bear to do so. :)