Disclaimer: I do not own Haruka and Michiru's characters, they belong to Naoko Takeuchi. All other characters and this story belong to me.
Prologue
Tokyo, 22 years ago
The two blonde children were running towards the playground. They were dressed in navy shorts, white shirts and beige sandals. They were picture-perfect: not only were their looks mirrored, but so were their movements. To all they looked like they were fiercely racing each other; yet, to them it felt like they were carried by the wind. There were only two of them in the world at that moment in time and nothing else mattered.
"Want to place the bets on which one of them gets there first?" A young man in his late-twenties asked the friends he was walking with. He was tall and well-built, with charcoal black hair and deep blue eyes. His eyes were following the children with a sparkle of amusement.
"Only if you want to lose. It's pointless, they are not competing." The woman answered. She looked about the same age as the man, but was a complete opposite in her looks: her hair was long and blonde, her eyes dark brown.
"Could have fooled me. Look at them - what is it if not a competition?"
The other man chuckled. Much like his friend, he was tall and well-built, with light brown hair and dark green eyes. He looked at his wife before replying without any humor: "You really need to spend more time with my children, Kaito. There is nothing more important to them than each other. The moment we are witnessing is all about them. There is no "I" in that relationship, they will do anything for one another and neither will ever come out on top. It is all about "us", not "me" with those two. That will never change."
Now it was Kaito's time to chuckle. "That's an extremely deep analysis of the actions of three-year-olds. Only parents can be this sure of what their children will turn out to be like, taking an assessment at such a young age."
"We shall see. Of course, you would hope they do not disappoint us. After all, one of them will be your child-in-law in the future." The woman retorted.
"True. I wonder which one it will be." Kaito mused.
"Will it matter?"
"Not if they turn out the way you think they will."
The woman smiled. "So when will we know which one it is?"
"Well, I believe Mi-chan's sonogram is scheduled in two weeks. You and Riku will surely be the first to know." Kaito replied with a warm smile.
Nariko returned the smile. "That will certainly be appreciated."
"Will it matter?" It was Kaito's time to muse.
"Well, there is an age difference. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer for a girl to have an older spouse." Nariko smirked.
"I'm sure Mi-chan will share the sentiment. Traditions are really her cup of tea, not mine. I think that age will not matter, so long as they are happy together." Kaito replied.
"If you care so much about happiness, shouldn't you wait and see who your child loves before making commitments to marriage, not doing so before it is even born?" Riku replied in amusement. It was decided a long time ago between the two families that their children will bind them together in the future. The young couples were best friends and their companies complemented each other. Kaito and Miho came from a line of old money and tradition, while Riku and Nariko were in the process of expanding their business that they have started some time ago, after they graduated from college. Through sweat, blood and tears of the business world, the two young families kept together and decided that the best way for them to do so in the future would be to bind their families and businesses through marriage. All four knew that twenty years into the future their success or failure was unpredictable, but none of them wanted to lose what they had and the thought of a marriage made them even stronger.
"My marriage was arranged and I love Miho-chan. There is nothing that makes me doubt that our children will be able to love each other, or, at least, learn to do so. Look at the relationship our families have - how can they not follow our example?" Kaito replied thoughtfully.
"Well, I sure hope your child will feel that way."
A dark brow rose above a deep blue eye. "My child? Shouldn't you be more concerned with your child, Riku?"
"Nope. My children will always help each other out."
Kaito looked at Riku in bewilderment. "Let's just hope that the only thing they inherited is their father's eyes and not his arrogance."
The three smirked and watched as the twins simultaneously reached the swing set.
ooo
Tokyo, 25 years ago
Long blond clumps of wet hair clung to her face. She was panting heavily and obviously in a lot of pain. She dug her nails deeper into her husband's hand trying to keep her sanity. Riku kept looking at his wife with worry, trying not to show any signs of being in pain, since she was obviously suffering tenfold worse than he was. The door to the room opened and Kaito walked in with a petite woman with blue eyes and peculiar aqua hair. Both faces reflected the same worry.
Miho walked around the bed Nariko was crouched on. She looked at the blonde woman with concern and gently moved the hair off of her face. "Nariko-chan, how are you doing?"
Nariko tried to force a smile to her face. "Well… judging by… the timing… and the… intensity… she will be… an athlete… that will… win every… race." The sentence interrupted by her heavy breathing seemed to take a lot of her energy.
"She?" Kaito asked in amusement. "I thought you decided not to find out the baby's gender."
"Well, that didn't stop Nariko-chan here from assuming that she is going to have a daughter and picking a name out for her. Good thing she didn't go as far as painting the room pink. That would have been a disaster if we have a boy." Riku smiled gently at his wife, trying to take her mind off of the fact that she was in labor a month and a half too early.
"I can't... help it... if I... feel that way." Nariko cringed in pain as soon as she finished the sentence. She tried to change the position to relieve the agony, but nothing seemed to help. The nurse walked into the room. Quickly assessing the situation, she told them that she would be back in a few minutes with the doctor and asked that they would leave for the hallway at that point.
"It's time." She smiled encouragingly before shutting the door behind her.
The doctor came in shortly and the three worried friends found themselves in the hallway. The white walls and incandescent lights did nothing to lessen their worry.
"She will be fine. If there was something wrong the doctor would have told you." Kaito assured Riku.
"I know, I just can't help it. She's in so much pain. Just wait until you are in my shoes, I'm sure you will not feel any different from me, I just hope yours will be on schedule." Riku sighed and started pacing in front of the room.
Trying to borrow his earlier tactic of distraction, Miho probed: "What's the name, Riku-kun?"
"Uh?" Riku smiled thoughtfully. "Haruka…"
Eventually the door opened and revealed a tired-looking doctor. He looked at Riku and smiled. "Congratulations, Tenoh-san, you are a father of beautiful and healthy twins."
ooo
Tokyo, 22 years ago
"I told you you'd be this worried last time we were here, didn't I?"
"This is not the time to gloat, Riku." Kaito replied, annoyed, as he paced in the same hallway Riku has been pacing in some three years ago. He looked at the door, for the nth time, and sighed again. "Why is it taking so long?"
"Patience is a virtue." Riku replied.
"Yes, I remember exactly how much patience you had. This is not one of our virtues, my friend. If it was, we would not be making deals today that will take effect years into the future."
"Touché."
"Sorry I'm late, we ran into some traffic." Nariko approached them with a child hanging off of each of her hands. "How is she?"
"She's fine." Riku picked up one of the twins as he answered his wife's question. "She's been in there for a while, but everything is as it should be, so I'm sure we will see a beautiful baby-girl in no time." Riku smiled encouragingly at Kaito, who only sighed again.
Fifteen minutes later a nurse came out and announced that they may see the mother and the newborn. Kaito ran excitedly pass the Tenohs and into the room. He embraced his wife, glanced at the little bundle in her arms and kissed her passionately.
"Done with the first and on to the second already?" Riku smirked sarcastically.
The new parents, for once, completely ignored his sarcasm. Disappointed, Riku looked at the little girl resting in her mother's arms and then looked at the son he was holding. He smiled like only a loving father could. "There Haru, that little princess over there is your future wife." He kissed his child on the temple and hugged his wife and daughter.