Please don't murder me for my pairings. Let's say Yu, Yukiko, Yosuke, and Chie are 29 while Naoto, Rise, and Kanji are 28. Teddie's age is…unknown. Btw, the females kept their last names, but Naoto is occasionally referred to as Mrs. Tatsumi. Sue me. (Not really.)
On with the story~
It's near the end of summer. The cicadas are buzzing around on nearby trees as two figures walk down the road, engaged in a conversation. They turn left, walking towards a three-storied brick, apartment complex. One particular apartment has its window open and the curtains drawn, a light shining from inside.
Inside the apartment, three young adults lounge around in the living room.
"So? What are you gonna name them?" A curious, young, female adult asks, her brown eyes glistening with excitement. Her long, brown hair cascades down a little past her shoulders. She is currently wearing a see-through halter-top with a striped tank top underneath to go with a pair of tan khakis.
"We have yet to determine names for our children, Rise-san. Kanji and I have been debating over it for quite some time now," the reply comes from another woman. Her navy, blue hair cascades past her shoulder, spread out across the couch like a blanket. Her gray eyes glance past the person in front of her, one Rise Kujikawa, to the entrance to the kitchen. Her husband's shadow can be seen on the ground as he maneuvers around the kitchen, cooking their dinner. She places her hand on her swelling belly as she feels a light kick.
"Is it really that hard, Naoto-kun?" Her gaze shifts over to the person, a male, a year older, lounging on the couch. He has short, slightly unkempt, fawn-colored hair that covers his ears. He is wearing red slacks with a striped t-shirt. Red headphones wrap itself around his neck like a scarf.
"Well, Kanji and I both have our own preferences on the names of our children," the pregnant Naoto Shirogane explains with an exasperated sigh.
Ever since she and Kanji had gone to the doctor for the ultrasound a few months ago, the pair had discussed and debated over the names of their twins. "Why not compromise?" Chie Satonaka suggests, surprising her husband by grabbing him from behind. Yosuke instinctively reacts, tensing up and trying to push her off. But when he realizes who it is, he relaxes and she pecks him on the cheek.
She easily swings herself over the couch, situating herself in Yosuke's arms. Her short, light brown hair is barely ruffled as she rests on his lap. "You know how they are, Chie," Rise begins. "They're both really stubborn about this so there's obviously no compromise."
"What are you talking about, Rise-san? We have compromised before," Naoto argues, pushing herself up.
"Oh, really now?" Rise asks skeptically, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning away from Naoto. "Like what?"
"Er, well…" she trails off, blushing.
"Why're you turning redder than a tomato…?" Chie asks hesitantly.
"I-It's nothing," Naoto mutters, turning away as her face brightens even more.
Rise smirks, knowing just how south this conversation is going. "What's this? The detective prince knows a few tricks?"
"Th-that's-!"
"Wow, Naoto-kun. I didn't know you knew that stuff," Chie comments, a look of shock on her face.
"That's kind of a scary thought, when you think about it."
"Wh-what are you insinuating, Rise-san?"
"Who knows? But what are you interpreting it as?" Too late, Naoto realizes that Rise had set up a trap.
Naoto lets out a cough, lying back down. "I-in any case, I have a feeling that our children will be nameless for now."
"Come on, it can't be that hard, can it?"
"I want the names to be meaningful while Kanji wants the names based on how 'badass' they sound," Naoto responds, putting air quotes around badass.
"What did you have in mind?"
"Something like Hikari and Tsuki."
"And what does Kanji want?" Rise asks, fiddling with her phone.
"He wanted to name them Gou and Rin. When I argued against that, he chose Kai and Yuki."
"They're not that bad."
"Still…"
"Why not Yumi or Miharu for a girl?" Yosuke offers. "And maybe something like Haru or Natsu for a boy?"
"Naming the boy after seasons?" Chie asks.
"Why not?"
"That is so cliché, Yosuke."
"What? It works though!"
"Seriously, Yosuke-senpai. That is seriously and totally lame," Rise agrees.
"But…" Yosuke slumps and Chie playfully punches his chest.
"Come on, why not just save your energy? We can use those names for something else in the future."
"A-are you implying something, Chie-senpai?" Rise asks with a look of mortification on her face.
Chie pushes herself off Yosuke's lap and stares back at Rise. "Wh- Hey, I'm not the one with their mind in the gutter! You're the one assuming all of these!"
"You're the one that's implying everything. For all I know, you and Yosuke-senpai could've-"
"We are not having this discussion!" Naoto interjects, blushing furiously. The two other females glance over to her as silence begins to set in on them. "L-look…Kanji and I invited you all over to have dinner. It would be a waste if we spent it arguing over something as trivial as names. We agreed that we wouldn't have any name discussions tonight, and I'd appreciate it if the rest of you do not bring up this topic."
"Even if the three of us and Yu-senpai don't, there's still Teddie and Yukiko."
Naoto grimaces, remembering how Teddie marches to the beat of his own drum. She'd been arguing with Kanji over the names of their children for a good 2 months now. One day of peace and quiet is probably too much to ask for…especially since she made the blunder of inviting Teddie as well. Yukiko might listen after enough emphasis from her husband, but she's bound to slip up. "It is safe to say I shot myself in the foot with the invitations. However, this is a dinner before I have to go to the hospital the next day. The twins are due soon and I want to be there, ready for it."
"I'm pretty sure if we remind Teddie how important it is to keep his mouth shut, he'll listen," Chie consoles her.
Naoto sighs, shifting her body into a sitting position. She slips her feet into her teal slippers and stands up, smoothing out her aqua-blue summer dress. Her ears twitch when she hears footsteps walking down the hallway outside towards their apartment. Barely a knock is placed on the door before Naoto is there to open it. In walks a woman, a year older than Naoto. Her hair is pulled back in a neat bun and a sky blue cardigan is worn over her snow-white dress. Behind her, a boy who looks no older than 18 follows her. He wears a blue and white striped T-shirt with a small anchor designed on the chest with navy shorts.
"Greetings, Yukiko-senpai. And Teddie."
"Hey, Naoto-kun!" Yukiko greets, slipping off her yellow sandals and placing it on the bottom of the shoe rack.
"Nao-chan!" Teddie exclaims, leaping towards her. Naoto, because of her belly, barely manages to maneuver out of the way, causing Teddie to fall on his face.
"Geez, Teddie. You know Naoto-kun is pregnant and you're still trying to jump her?" Rise scolds Teddie, standing over him. He sits up, his blue eyes still gleaming.
"I just wanted to show my affection for Nao-chan!" he argues.
"Teddie, if you try to do that again and Kanji-kun is around, you'd be six feet under," Chie reminds him.
Teddie's face contorts into a face of fear as he realizes just how quickly he could travel to the next world if he pisses off Naoto's husband. Memories of Kanji and chairs and the P1 Grand Prix flash across the Shadow's face as he huddles into a fetal position and shakes. Rise frowns when she hears whimpering from him.
Naoto sighs, closing the door behind her. "Rise-san, it would be prudent to not scar Teddie…again." She moves over to the couches as Yukiko sits down next to Yosuke and Chie. She moves all of the cups onto a tray to clean later as she sits back down.
"Were we late for dinner?" Yukiko asks as she places a bag onto the table. Naoto grabs a pillow and hugs it over her belly.
"No, Kanji and Yu-senpai are still preparing dinner."
"You know, I still don't understand why we don't cook. I mean, why do we always have to let the men cook?"
"Chie, please…we do not need more Mystery Food X," Yosuke reminds them of their little incident during the camping trip a decade ago. "Especially with Naoto-kun pregnant, it's really risky for her!"
"What did happen during that camping trip?" Naoto asks, never getting the full information of one of the "darkest days of the Investigation Team" as Yosuke put it.
"It's better if you don't know everything," Yosuke emphasizes.
"Hey, we did say we were sorry!"
"Sorry didn't soothe my stomach that night!" Their argument is broken up when Teddie jumps onto their couch. "Hey, watch it, Ted!"
"I don't want to hurt Nao-chan and this is the only open spot left!"
Yosuke scowls as Chie feels him shifting. "Where you going?" she asks as he stands up.
"I'm gonna see what's takin' them so long. I'm hungry." Yosuke heads to the kitchen without waiting for a reply.
In the kitchen…
"I'm tellin' ya, man! Gou and Rin are the best options! Kai and Yuki are really close seconds for them!" A black-haired man with glasses, Kanji Tatsumi, reiterates. A pink frilly apron covers his plain white-collared T-shirt and black jeans. He stirs the boiled water in the pot as he keeps an eye on the frying pan. His senpai, Yu Narukami, is cutting up cucumbers and scattering them into a salad bowl. Kanji mixes the rice around on the pan as he cracks a couple of eggs to add into the pan. The smell of food permeates throughout the kitchen and taunts Yosuke as he walks in.
"What is taking you guys so long?" he asks, grabbing their attention.
"We're almost done. We had to prepare everything from scratch, after all," Yu replies, brushing his gray hair back for a moment. He has a striped red and white apron covering his plain white T-shirt and jeans. He checks on the soup and lowers the fire as he places sliced eggs into the salad, adding slices of onions and tomatoes as well into the bowl. He opens a cabinet and pours vinegar into the salad bowl.
"Do you need any help?" Yosuke offers.
"Yeah, can you take Kanji's spot with the fried rice?" Yosuke complies as Kanji opens another cabinet, pulling out bowls for each person. He lines them up next to the simmering soup and ladles them into the bowls. Yosuke turns off the fire under the fried rice when he notices that it's perfectly cooked. He pushes the rice onto a plate next to him and leaves the pan on the stove to allow it to cool down.
Yu places the bowls of soup onto a tray, leaving them by the sink. Kanji turns off the fires and sighs, taking the apron off. He places it onto a rack of other aprons, Yu doing the same. Yosuke inhales deeply as his stomach growls. "So, what were you guys talking about?"
"Kanji was talking about how he and Naoto've been debating on the names."
"Oh yeah, Rise asked Naoto about the names too," Yosuke comments, noticing Kanji grimace.
"I don't get it. What's wrong with the names I wanted?"
"Nothing's wrong…It's just…maybe Naoto's been wanting to name her kids something for a while now."
"But my names are badass! I don't get why she's against our kids having badass names!"
"Look, Kanji, you told me that you and she agreed to not discuss that topic for today since it's the only day we'll get to eat with each other for a while since she's going to the hospital tomorrow, right?"
Kanji stutters. "U-uh…y-yeah."
"So let's drop this topic until later. Wouldn't want Naoto to get agitated."
Kanji slumps. "Y-you're right."
"Now, help me carry this stuff out. I'm pretty sure they're starving by now."
Naoto hears footsteps from the kitchen as Yu walks out, the salad bowl and the plate of fried rice in his hands. Yosuke carries out a plate of fried shrimp and clean, empty bowls. Kanji trails behind them with the tray of soup. "Took you guys long enough," Chie comments as she stands up.
She helps Yosuke set up the dinner tables as Yu and Kanji place the entrees at the center of the table. Rise goes into the kitchen with Teddie trailing behind her. Yukiko helps Naoto over to the dining table and Naoto sits down on the edge of the table. Kanji finishes setting up and sits down next to her, their hands intertwining with each other instantly.
Rise and Teddie come back out, beers and cocktails in their hands. "Since Naoto-kun can't drink any of this, we'll be drinking it for her!" Rise says with a grin as she places them all at the center.
Teddie places a cup of water next to Naoto. "Here, Nao-chan."
"Thanks, Teddie," Naoto acknowledges Teddie as Kanji scoops up some fried rice for her. She grabs a few pieces of shrimp, placing them on top of the rice once Kanji places it down in front of her.
"So Yukiko-senpai, how's the inn going?" Rise asks as she digs into her bowl of rice. She plucks a few pieces of salad from the bowl as well.
"It's as crowded as ever, but it's not that hard to manage," Yukiko replies.
"Especially since you've got Yu to help you," Yosuke adds with a grin. They all knew that Yukiko was one lucky girl for getting Yu as her husband. After all, he seemed to be good at everything and helping Yukiko manage the inn was only further proof of that.
"How has the police career been treating you, Chie? I heard that Detective…well, Deputy Chief Dojima has been pretty strict on new recruits."
"I'm not a new recruit anymore, Rise. I got promoted to Sergeant a while back."
"What? Really?"
"Yup! I managed to solve a few cases here and there, thanks to the help of Prince Detective, and so they bumped me up."
"Do they know you were helping her, Naoto-kun?"
"Of course. Chie would simply call me and we would discuss the case. She solved the cases on her own; I merely helped her hypothesize."
"Wow, you're so lucky…wait, Naoto, what are you working as now?"
"I'm still a private investigator; I am simply resting for a year or two. Tatsumi Textiles has been successful and it's been enough to sustain us while I rest."
"How's your mom, Kanji-chan?" Teddie asks, digging into what looks to be his fifth bowl of rice and shrimp.
"She's fine; I mean, Naoto and I visit her every other week and I don't see anything different," Kanji replies. He doesn't mention the increasing amount of her gray hairs or the fact that wrinkles seem to be appearing more and more on her face.
As the group continue eating and conversing, Naoto's stomach begins to hurt. She disregards it though, believing it to be the babies kicking in her stomach. "Hey, Nao…you okay?" Kanji asks, worry all over his face.
"I...I'm fine," Naoto replies, taking a sip of her water. There's no way her water could break now. The doctor had told her that the babies would be due in two weeks! Although...now that she thinks about it, it is common for premature births. But…is it a premature birth or is she just being paranoid? Should she tell them now or wait until after dinner? After all, the pain could subside. Maybe it's just a bad stomachache.
"Are you sure?" Kanji asks again.
Naoto mutely nods, resisting the urge to press down on her stomach. If she showed where the pain is, there's a guarantee that her friends would panic. "Naoto, you don't look okay…" Yu comments. Naoto glances over to him as she begins to sweat. Trust Yu to notice everything that is happening. The pain increases and Naoto grits her teeth, one hand clutching tightly on the table and the other on her stomach.
Above the pain, she can hear her friends worriedly inquiring on her. Kanji leans in on Naoto as she screws her eyes shut. "Nao…?"
She lets out a shuddering breath and stiffens when she feels water leaking out. Her eyes open wide and she turns to Kanji, shock in her eyes. She manages to find her voice and says three words, "My water broke."
Yu leans against the white, sterile wall, Yosuke squatting down beside him. Teddie rests across from them, his legs spread out. Yukiko, Rise, and Chie occupy the three seats in the hallway as they wait outside the delivery room. Kanji and Naoto have been in there for two hours now. Yu had predicted what happened to Naoto and called 911 even before she admitted that her water broke.
Luckily, the paramedics appeared within five minutes and carried Naoto away, Kanji trailing behind. Yu and the others quickly covered dinner and followed after the couple. Now, they await for news on the children and Naoto.
"It's a good thing the babies aren't born too early," Chie comments, trying to break the awkward silence.
"What happens if they do?"
"There's a bunch of risks involved when that happens, Teddie. The fetuses aren't fully developed so there could be problems during labor or even after," Yukiko explains.
"There goes Naoto's wish of one peaceful day without talking about names…" Yosuke mutters.
Inside the delivery room, a wailing can be heard. One nurse cradles a newborn with black hair in her hands as the doctor urges Naoto. Kanji is beside her, his hand squeezed tightly by Naoto.
"C'mon, Nao! You're almost done!" Naoto responds with a scream, squeezing Kanji's hand even tighter.
The doors to the delivery room suddenly slide open, the doctor stepping out. "Are you friends of Kanji and Naoto?" he asks as he pulls off the surgical mask.
"Yes," Yu answers for the group.
"Mrs. Tatsumi gave birth to two healthy twins."
Later…
Naoto reclines on the hospital bed, her twin babies lying on their own beds next to her. Kanji is standing over them, ready to help the twins if they start crying. A nurse opens the door, getting the couple's attention and in comes Yu and their friends.
"Naoto, are you all right?" Various inquiries to her and the babies' health overwhelm her before Yu raises his hand, telling everyone to stop.
"Come on, guys, let her answer."
"Everything is stable and they plan to discharge me tomorrow."
"What? Already?" Yosuke asks as the females and Teddie join Kanji looking over the twins.
"Yes, they need to keep an eye on the twins for 24 hours to confirm that there is nothing wrong." Naoto pushes herself up on the bed again. "And to see if we can decide over their names."
"...Still…?" Yosuke asks.
"Unfortunately, yes," Naoto answers.
"Kanji and I said different answers and the doctor told us to discuss over it."
"I'm tellin' you! Kai and Yuki!" he exclaims, his voice raised. Chie smacks him upside the head as the babies start to stir.
"Be quiet, you idiot! You're gonna make your own kids cry!"
Kanji rubs his head as he looks at the twins. One has a blue tuft of hair on his head and the other has cropped, black hair on her head. They are both wrapped up tightly with a blanket and two small hats lie on their sides for when it gets cold. On the side of their cribs, incomplete certificates are held in place. The twin sister's time of birth says 8:27 PM while the twin brother's time of birth says 8:32 PM. The rest of the certificates document their height, weight, and other various details. The prominent part that is missing are their names.
Yu glances at the babies as the women coo over them. "Do you have any suggestions, Yu-senpai?" Naoto asks.
"You want their names to mean something, right?"
"Yes, I believe names in our culture are meant to mean something."
"Kai does mean something, you know."
"Yes, but I wanted something more practi-"
"Why not Sora and Katsue?"
Kanji turns around. "Sora sounds so pansy, though!" he complains.
"It means 'sky'."
"My point exactly!"
"I like how you don't have any complaints about the girl's name."
"Hey, as long as the boy's named Kai or Gou, I'm fine with anything for the girl!"
"The same goes for me…however, it is the opposite. As long as my daughter has a realistic name and not something strange, I am willing to go with any of those names for my son." The couple blinks simultaneously when they realize they had just resolved the entire issue.
"There you have it," Yu announces with a small smile on his lips. "So, Kanji, which name do you want for the boy?"
"Uh...Kai sounds pretty badass as it is!"
"But Gou means strong and tough and Kai just means the sea," Yukiko explains.
Kanji frowns, deep in thought. "All right, Gou it is!"
"And what about the girl, Naoto-kun?" Rise asks as the baby boy stirs in response to the decided name.
"Hmm, I am indecisive between three names: Kiyoko, Misaki, and Katsue."
"They all sound pretty nice. This is hard…" Chie mutters as she tries to choose. Naoto mulls over it herself when the three girls blurt out names.
"Kiyoko!" Rise decides.
"Misaki!" Yukiko suggest.
"Katsue!" Chie offers.
The three females look at one another before sighing heavily. "We're never gonna decide this way…" Rise mumbles.
As they continue debating over the names, Yosuke and Teddie are observing the twin daughter's facial expressions. Yosuke notices how the baby had briefly giggled when Naoto and Yukiko said Misaki while Teddie had observed how deeply the child frowned when the other two names were offered. The two males look at one another, the same myth popping up in their head. There is a common belief that newborn infants may respond to a specific name when parents are undecided over their names.
"Hey, Naoto-kun…Kanji," Yosuke speaks up, grabbing everyone's attention.
"What is it?" Naoto asks, immediately alert.
"It's…well, your daughter was smiling when she heard MIsaki."
"Really?"
"Yup!" Teddie confirms. "She was smiling as bright as the sun and then was close to bawling her poor eyes out when she heard the other two names!"
"That is rather interesting…" Naoto pulls back the blanket as she swings her body to the edge of the bed. She slowly slides her feet into the hospital slippers and she shuffles over to the cribs. "Kanji…" Without being need to be told any further, Kanji bends down and picks up the baby boy as Naoto picks up the baby girl. "So…Gou and Misaki?" she asks, smiling softly at her friends.
The twins respond with giggles.
Whew! That was really hard, surprisingly. This came to me out of nowhere a month or two back, but I never had the urge to write it again until I got hit with Writer's block for "Have You Heard of the Midnight Channel?" and had to stop. I decided to focus on this and try to see if I can get my writing muse back for that story. Also, I have two ideas floating around about Kanji and Naoto. One is where Naoto gets injured and Kanji has to take her to the hospital and the other one is based on Magic's "Rude!" song. If this story gets good responses (reviews, alerts, favorites), this little one-shot fanfic might turn into a series of one-shots shipping these two ;)