(September 27, 2024)
It was a calm September evening in the Inumuta household. Ryuko was about to start making dinner when her daughters walked pass the kitchen.
Ryuko placed a hand on her hip, "Seika, Fuyumi, where're you two going?" Ryuko asked them.
The two girls stopped by, "Oh just my room, Oka-san. I want to show Fuyumi something cool." Seika answered.
Ryuko smiled at them, "Well dinner will be ready in about an hour, so don't take two long if it is."
Seika and Fuyumi nodded in understanding, "Okay Oka-san!" They both chimed and continued to go. They were careful near their new baby brother's nursery since he was taking his nap.
"Seika-nee, what are you going to show me?" Fuyumi whisper asked her as she followed to older sister's room.
Seika kept smiling to herself before she replied vaguely. "You'll see."
The older girl tapped on a CPU power button with a playful female AI responding, "Hello Seika-san and welcome back."
"Hi May-san." Seika greeted the AI "I'm with my sister to work on my project."
Seika befriended the advance artificial intelligence her father and Shiro-oji did as a side project for her to beta test. The AI didn't have a particular name so Seika decided to name her after the English month she receive her, "May".
"Project?" Fuyumi wondered out loud.
"Do you want me to open it for you?" May asked.
"Please and thank you, May-san!"
When the image loaded, Fuyumi cried out in awe. "Haa~ It's so pretty Seika-nee!"
Seika beamed at the look of her own work, "It's not done yet, but I'm close." She looked to her sister in a more serious manner. Fuyumi looked back a bit confused before her older sister held her hand out.
"Fuyumi-chan, promise me to keep this a secret okay? We wanna surprise Otou-san and Oka-san." Seika asked of her.
Fuyumi looked at her for moment, only to smile back and take it "Hai Seika-nee, I promise!" Fuyumi looked back to the picture and ponders on it, "does the picture have a story, Seika-nee?"
"Well…" Seika sat on her chair, feeling sheepish after her such a passionate declaration "I was hoping you can help make a story for it. You're better with words than I am."
In contrast to Seika being the energetic tomboy artist, Fuyumi was the reserved girlish storyteller. Both girls were very talented, even called prodigies by some, in their very young ages. Their father joked that they must have inherited a mix of his and their mother's brain to be both "highly intuitive and intellectual" with anything they get their hands on.
However, what really surprised both Houka and Ryuko was their daughters being able to converse a respectable degree of Mandarin and English with each other from mixed exposure to foreign programing. By then, Houka organized for simple language material they could practice if they wished, and possible tutors if they become interested in multiple languages. Ryuko just thought her husband will become the proudest, most invested Geek Dad to ever live.
Fuyumi sat crossed legged on her sister's bed, "Hmm~ well if I can help Onee-chan, I would love to!"
Seika grinned at her little sister's enthusiasm. "Awesome! You can use my new laptop. I'm going to try drawing the stars on the days me, you, and Nagaremaru were born." Seika claimed determinedly, fire practically lighting in her blue eyes and turned to her computer "May-san, can you find a star map?"
The two tireless girls did everything they could to make the best story their parent could love.
oOoOo
(October 3, 2024, Seika's Birthday)
Seika's birthday was a small but lively affair. Her parents set two areas. One where she and Fuyumi could play with their cousins and friends, another where the adults could chat. Her Satsuki-oba and Shiro-oji and godparents Ira, Mako, Uzu, and Nonon congratulated and hugged her for turning five years old.
"Are you excited? Seika-nee?" Fuyumi asked her sister.
Seika thought for a moment, "Well a bit, but I feel it's just another day to me."
An older boy called out to her. "Seika! Happy birthday!" Kazuki greeted her cheerfully. His brother shortly followed.
"Hai, Happy Birthday Seika-imoto." Shiori said more formally.
Her older boy cousins Kazuki and Shiori Kiryuin attended. Kazuki was about year older than her and Shiori exactly a year younger than his brother. Both boys had brunet hair and amber eyes in contrast to their mother.
Seika grinned and fist bumped her cousins and group hugged them with Fuyumi, though Shiori was more reluctant in it. "Thanks so much! I'm happy you two came!"
Kazuki laughed and patted his cousin's back, "We wouldn't miss our cute little sister's birthday! Ka-san and Tou-san really wanted to see their other favorite family! But Tou-san couldn't make it because of work."
Seika pulled away and huffed over being called cute, "I'm not really that cute, Kazuki-nii."
Kazuki grinned at her, "Well you didn't deny you are!" He noticed his cousin was getting pouty, he decided to stop teasing her.
Before Seika could say anything, an energetic girl with blonde hair and brown eyes glomped Seika from the side.
"Happy Fifth Birthday, Seika-chan! I'm happy to see you!" Ayako cheered.
"Ayako! Don't do that! You could hurt someone!" An older boy with brunet hair and amber eyes warned his younger sister and turned to Seika. "Sorry for Ayako, Seika-san."
"Oh its fine, I'm used to it, Itsuki-san." Seika excused.
Itsuki and Ayako were the son and daughter of Gamagoori Ira and Mako. Itsuki was about two years older than her and Ayako being two months younger than her. To say the least, the two siblings were pretty much like their parents.
A girl with dark rosette hair and grey eyes followed the group, "So you're finally five. Hmph it's not a big deal but congratulations I guess." Sakuya huffed and looked away from them.
Sakuya was the only daughter of Sanageyama Uzu and Nonon. The rosette haired girl was six months older than Seika and two words to sum her up right now is "nobility complex". But Seika could tell she's just not used to relating to them since she doesn't have any siblings to joke with and her parents spoiling her often.
Seika blinked at the rather mixed greeting. 'That's how Sakuya usually is, but she isn't bad', Seika thought. "Thanks Sakuya-san, I've only been five for a day so I guess you know more about it than I do."
Sakuya immediately became flustered, "U-uhm…ask me if you don't know about being five, I guess!"
Ayako hugged Sakuya as well, making Sakuya tense, "Sakuya-chan! Hi!"
Itsuki sighed, "Why do I bother stopping you?"
Seika laughed at all her friends being weird with each other, "Well as the birthday girl, I say let's all play!"
Kazuki grinned, "You heard Seika! Let's go~!"
Seika played tag, guessing games, speed puzzling solving with her older cousins, and played some dated party video games from their parent's time. It would be an understatement to say it was fun.
After the festivities and everyone left for home. Seika and Fuyumi helped clean up the mess with their parents.
"Did you have fun today?" Houka asked Seika as he loaded the dish washer.
"Hai! I had a lot of fun, Otou-san!" Seika answered in her usual cheer. "I really like the new clothes from Shiro-ojisan, the hair ornaments I got from Ayako-chan and Itsuki-san, and the giant wolf doll I got from Sakuya-san."
Houka chuckled at his daughter's excitement, "I can tell when you first saw them."
Seika thought about it and went to a thinking pose, "I really like wolves, but I never told Sakuya-san that I liked them…"
Houka thought about it with her, "Well you showed me some of your wolf drawings from kindergarten, maybe Sakuya saw some of them and thought of getting you the doll?" He suggested.
"Hmm," Seika nodded in agreement. "I agree with your deduction otou-san!"
Houka patted his daughter's head, "I'm glad we could agree, and I admire your use of vocabulary, musume."
Seika smiled more fondly, "Hnn, Otou-san?"
"Hai?"
"I want to show both you and Oka-san something I made with Fuyumi for my birthday."
oOoOo
Seika, Fuyumi, and Nagaremaru have all slept soundly after a long day of excitement.
Their parent were still awake to look onto the beautiful gift their daughter's made for them.
It was a digitally painted portrait of their entire family in kimonos and fairy tale like depictions of them in Japanese scroll art. Ryuko was sitting on a throne like wooden chair on a slanted view with Nagaremaru. She wore a kimono that looked like Senketsu and her hair done in a high bun with hair ornaments. Houka stood by the right of the throne, his hand on Fuyumi head's in an assuring, fatherly manner as she clung by his leg shyly. Seika sat on the foot of the opposite side, cross-legged with her mother's red bladed katana partially unsheathed near the hilt by her. Houka and the children have dog ears that reveal their animal heritage and the children wearing kimonos with constellations on the times they were born.
Beneath the portrait was a fairy tale story of the family.
A dog that named himself Houka became a human aside from dog ears from the light of the sun. The sun's rays that shown from the sky painted his hair blue and his senses could sniff out where the sun shone its light. With this gift, Houka wanted to learn about the world the sun could shine on.
Over a year's time, Houka merely watched over all of humans and animals alike to learn everything he could about them, unseen or unheard by them. But over that time, Houka felt like he learned everything the world could offer him and felt that he needed to retreat from the world and sleep forever. However, in the daybreak of that night, what he thought was a star fell nearby from the heavens.
Houka went to see what landed but to his surprise, in the crater was a young woman dressed in a black kimono with red trimmings, by her side a katana as red as blood. Her river long hair was as dark as the night sky and adorned with many stars that made the area glow. The woman looked around her surroundings and met her blue gear ringed gaze with Houka's green ones. He only caught a glimpse of the woman and became enamoured by her before she turned and walked away. When the dawn light shone on her, he felt her presence become brighter than the sun that gave him his gift. Houka couldn't help but follow the mysterious woman to wherever she wished to go. Houka asked the star woman if she had a name, she was silent for a long moment and Houka thought she couldn't understand him or didn't want to speak but the woman turned him and said, "Ryuko".
The two unlikely companions traveled all over to take in the sights and sounds and other sensations the world had to offer. The two of them found each other to be very different. Their differences caused them to quarrel and but it equally made the world interesting in each other's point of view. The two of them became true friends and later deeper feelings of love bloomed when thoughts of parting ways from each other completely hurt both of them. After three years of being together, they married and promised to protect and care for each other.
Ryuko and Houka had three children that had dark blue hair like day becoming night. Their daughters Seika and Fuyumi have blue gear ringed eyes, while their son Nagaremaru's eyes had his father's green eyes with the gear rings like his mother's.
As an act of love, Ryuko cut her hair short and wove the divine strands into silken clothing that could protect them all their life.
For the rest of their days, the family of divine nature continued to live in the joys and sorrows of the beautiful world, as day and night continued on forever.
Ryuko still couldn't keep her tears in check from how much effort and detail the two of them worked on. "I'm more than proud of them Houka." Ryuko blinked away her tears.
Her husband encircled his arms around Ryuko's waist, the woman resting her head on his shoulder, "I'm more than proud of them too, Ryuko." He gently kissed his love of nine years. "I want to give them a life and world that has no boundaries of what they can do."
Ryuko only smiled, "I just hope we could raise them to be good people."
Houka chuckled, "Then we'll have to take on another challenge together."