Adulthood

Miyu 1

Every morning was more or less the same. But Miyu didn't mind- she enjoyed the routine. Every morning, at exactly 6:00, the alarm on her cell phone would wake her. She would slip into the kitchen and set up the rice cooker, letting it cook while she jumped in the shower. She would then get dressed and do her makeup, then she would go back into the kitchen and make both her lunch, as well as Yamato's. Then, while she waited for Yamato to come downstairs, she would boot up her computer and read the morning news online. At exactly 7:30, Yamato would come pick up his lunch and kiss his wife goodbye, then both he and Miyu would head off to their respective jobs. Yamato would head to the Shibuya police box, and Miyu would hurry off to the kindergarten she taught at.

It had been that way for ten years, since their marriage, with the occasional break in routine. When Ran found out she was expecting her children, on both occasions, she had set up camp in her brother's kitchen and wolfed down all of the food he had in the apartment. Two years after the birth of Ran's second child, Sayo had repeated the pattern, barging in and snarfing down all the food Miyu had made for Yamato, hollering out something about her own pregnancy. At the time, Miyu had been a bit irritated, but she loved her nephews and niece enough that she didn't mind. Sometimes, on holidays, the whole family would gather together, either in Miyu and Yamato's apartment, or in Ran and Tatsuki's house, just to have fun.

Ten whole years had gone by, and Miyu had watched from the periphery as her family and friends all had their own families. Ran and Tatsuki had their daughter, Koboshi, and their son, Shigeo. Sayo and Masato had their son Kippei. Aya and Rei had their daughter, Mikiyo, who was now in Miyu's kindergarten class. Number Two and Mami had their son, Yuji, who was also now in Miyu's kindergarten class. Everyone around her seemed to be having kids and growing their family.

Everyone except Miyu.

She did not know why.

She and Yamato had tried so hard. Both of them wanted to have children of their own so badly. But something wasn't lining up correctly- maybe Miyu was barren, or maybe Yamato was shooting blanks, but no matter how hard they tried, Miyu had never been able to conceive. And so, watching as all of her friends had children, Miyu tried so very hard not to resent them. After all, she was a kindergarten teacher. She had so many children she saw day in, day out, and even some of them were her friends' children. She wanted to be the best teacher she could for them, and in that she succeeded, but in some ways, she felt a bit inadequate. If Ran could be a mother, why couldn't she? It just wasn't fair.

And so, on that morning, when Miyu came downstairs to see Ran sitting at her table, just like she had the previous two times, she couldn't help but spit out a sarcastic quip. "Let me guess- you're pregnant again."

"Yes! How did you know?" Ran replied, cheerfully oblivious to her sister-in-law's irritation.

"Just a lucky guess..." Miyu sighed. "You and Tatsuki do know where babies come from, right? If you're not careful you're going to end up like that crazy American lady on television with nineteen kids."

"Nah, we're not that far gone yet," Ran barreled on obliviously. "But Tatsukichi and I always wanted a big family- maybe we'll try for two boys and two girls!"

"Good luck with that," Miyu said. "Anyway, is there something you needed? Or are you just here to eat all my food again?" This time, Ran picked up that something was wrong.

"Is everything okay, Miyu? You're not acting like yourself. Are you sick?"

"No, I'm not sick."

"Are you sure?"

"Look, Ran, will you just go to work already? Or do whatever it is you do when you're NOT at work? Wait- where's Yamato's lunch?" Miyu interrupted herself, noticing that the bento box she'd left on the counter, with the food she had lovingly prepared for her husband, was no longer on the counter. She looked over at her sister-in-law, and Ran tried to look innocent. However, the other woman couldn't hold back the loud, obnoxious burp that emanated from her. At the furious expression on Miyu's face, she tried to pass it off as harmless.

"Uh... thanks for the food?"

"GET OUT!"

After chasing down Ran and making her apologize and promise that she would never, ever do it again (although Miyu knew it was probably only a matter of weeks before Ran showed up again and ate anything and everything she could find), Miyu managed to congratulate her sister-in-law on her good news. "Do you know if it's going to be a boy or a girl?"

"I only found out this morning, it's too early to tell!" Ran replied. "You're the first person I told! Tatsukichi was out on night duty last night and he fell asleep on the sofa. I didn't want to wake him up, but I wanted to tell someone! So… you! I'm going to call Aya later and tell her the good news too! Although I don't want to tell the kids yet, it's too early and I don't think they're old enough to really understand. Seriously though, Miyu, I'm so happy. Tatsukichi and I always wanted a big family. We love kids. Oh, by the way, do you mind watching Koboshi and Shigeo on Saturday? Tatsukichi has to work in the daytime, and I'm going for a checkup. Mom and Dad are still on vacation, so I can't leave the kids with them."

"Fine," Miyu finally agreed, mostly just to get Ran out of her hair.

"Excellent! Anyway, see you later, I've gotta jet! Have a good day at work, and tell my brother I said I'm sorry for eating his lunch. I'll make it up to him later, I promise. Bye!"

Once Ran was safely out of the apartment, Miyu sat down heavily on the couch. Again. Ran was pregnant again. With her third baby. Miyu had mostly been sarcastic when she'd made that quip about the crazy American family she'd seen on television, but now she was beginning to wonder. Why was it that some women could have baby after baby after baby, while she couldn't even get pregnant once? Sighing, she decided to leave her own lunch for Yamato, then hurried out the door to get to work. She would pick up some rice balls or something on the way. Stupid Ran, throwing off her morning routine. Ran always just stomped around without a care in the world, not mattering to her what went down or whose way she got in. Granted, becoming a police officer had helped her a bit with that, but nowhere near enough. She was still the same carefree, happy-go-lucky goofball Miyu had met in middle school, only now with more responsibilities.

And honestly, that kind of scared her.

To Be Continued

Author's Comments:

I recently re-read the GALS! manga, and the idea for this story popped into my head once I'd finished. It will be a bit more serious the manga itself was, but I'm hoping you will still find it enjoyable. It will alternate chapters between Miyu, Ran, and Aya's storylines, although there will be overlap. Most of the characters from the manga will be making appearances as well. The first few chapters will be fairly short, just to get into the swing of things, then after that, they will get a bit longer.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy this new story!

-Kaboom