Characters: Toyama Kazuha and Hattori Heiji( with Hattori Kagami and Hattori Kyoko)
Title: Bedtime Story
"A story?" Kazuha looked down at her twin six year old daughters with soft eyes
"Hai! We want a story before bed!" Kazuha giggled at the girls' enthusiasm
"But isn't that your father's job?" the two young girls who in most instances were mirror images of one another slumped down into their blankets, covering the bottom halves of their faces. Kazuha raised an eyebrow to their actions until her technically oldest child poked her head out and sent her mother a glum frown
"But he's never home to do it anymore, he's always working" Kazuha reached and pulled her daughters into a warm embrace, placing her head between their's
"You know he has to work. He keeps us safe and puts the bad people in jail"
"I know it's just…" Kazuha released her children and looked at them both with a serious expression
"Kagami, Kyoko, you know your father loves you right?" they both nodded with their eyes averted downward. Kazuha grinned knowingly and pushed them both down onto their backs, pulling the covers up over their bodies
"Kasan…"
"Okay I'll tell you my favorite story. It's about a maid and a prince" her daughters laughed giddily
"Yay! Is she pretty mommy? The maid, is she pretty? Is she like Cinderella?" They two hyperactive five year olds were now out of their blankets and kneeling on the bed in front of Kazuha. Kazuha was taken back for a moment by the reaction of her children but settled down and beamed happily at her daughters
"Yes sweetheart, or at least the prince thought so" she blushed slightly, unnoticed by her daughters
"Well tell us!"
"Yeah come on 'kasan!" Kazuha put her hands up defensively
"Okay okay calm down. Now before I start I want you two to lie down" her tone was genial yet authoritative and the twins complied with her condition. Once they were under the blankets of their shared bed once again Kazuha pulled a chair up from the other side of the room and sat down beside the bed
"We're ready!" the two girls announced excitedly
"Okay well this story starts out in a land far away, in a majestic castle. In this castle resided King Heizo and Queen Shizuka" Kazuha laughed internally and made a mental note to tell her daughters their grandparents' actual names at some point
"That King's name is like daddy's!" Kagami pointed out
"It is isn't it? Anyway as I was saying, the two monarchs had one son, Jii. Jii was the perfect child; he was smart, athletic and he was handsome to boot. He was the greatest swordsman in the kingdom and everyone respected him even despite his young age."
"He sounds great!" Kyoko chimed in with starry eyes
"He is- I mean was, he was great. Anyway, the King and Queen had been pressuring Jii to find a wife. Jii, being there only child, was destined to assume the throne but he needed a queen before he could do that. The only problem was the prince was incredibly dense and knew nothing of women. Fortunately his best friend was a girl and she did her best to help him understand"
"Oh mommy is she the maid!" Kazuha patted Kagami on the top of the head
"Observant just like your father, yes she is. Her name was Hisako and she was adopted by the castle at a very young age. She was only five when she met the prince and since they met they had been inseparable friends. So much so even that they wore matching rings, each with an inscription"
"Oh what'd they say!" Kagami screamed desperately
"They each read 'Joumae soshite kagi'. Hisako had them inscribed as a reminder that they knew each other better than anyone else did"
"That's so romantic!" Kyoko wailed, hardly able to keep still
"Yes it is. She had those made when she was just seven years old. After that they always wore them because Hisako believed the rings would keep them safe from harm"
"Just like the necklaces you and 'tosan wear" Kazuha reached a hand up to cover her omimari
"My Yuki aren't you especially clever tonight" she complimented her almost spitefully "As I was saying, they were best friends. However, as the years went on Hisako began to grow fonder of Jii and soon she fell madly in love with him. She never spoke a word about it to him because she was certain he did not feel the same way about her" Kagami and Kyoko were now silent and attentive. Kyoko had even developed the faintest presence of redness in her eyes
"But isn't it obvious how much she loves him?" Kyoko mumbled. Kazuha's eyebrow twitched as an expression of irritation crept onto her features
"You would think so wouldn't you? Well let's continue the story. Jii had been courted by dozens of young woman since his eighteenth birthday. Some were rich, some were powerful, some were talented but they all went unnoticed. You see the prince's ability to hardly bat an eyelash at even the most gorgeous woman that came to the castle had become legendary." Kyoko and Kagami shook their head slowly in unison with expressions of disapproval
"So dumb" Kagami muttered, receiving a nod in agreement from her sister
"Yes he is- WAS!" Kazuha blurted out awkwardly "I meant was, he was quite stupid. Well one day the King and Queen decided to put an end to the legend and they called none other than Hisako into their chambers for a private conversation. This was not an uncommon event for them, many times in the past they had asked her questions about their son since she seemed to spend the most time with him. Although they hadn't approved of the prince associating with a maid at first they eventually accepted the relationship and even became rather fond of Hisako" Kazuha stopped for a moment to make sure the two five year olds were still on the same page as her. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment when she noticed Kagami had fallen asleep. Kyoko, however, was wide awake awaiting the next part of the fairytale
"'kasan?" she asked, trying to break her mother out of the trance she had fallen into
"Oh gomen Kyoko I was just….doesn't matter. As I was saying, Hisako went to see the King and Queen. When she got there Heizo and Shizuka seemed more serious than they usually did.
'What is it you need?' she asked
'Hisako-chan I assume you are aware that Jii is now off marrying age yes?' Hisako looked confused by the question answered nonetheless
'Hai' Shizuka and Heizo grinned at one another and turned to her
'Hisako-chan you and Jii have been close friends since you were hardly old enough to read and write. You have been through many obstacles together and have become inseparable because of it' Hisako was still confused by the words the King was saying but continued to nod and listen
'Hisako-chan, we want you to marry Jii' Shizuka stated bluntly. Hisako almost fainted at the words but somehow managed to stay on her feet
'We know it may seem strange but we need you to do this for us, he needs a Queen' Hisako could only stare at them in silence"
"But 'kasan if she loves him why doesn't she just say 'yes!'?"
"Because Kyoko, she thought that he would be unhappy with her as a wife. She was, after all, just a maid" Kyoko was angered and disturbed by the concept
"But that doesn't matter they've been together for so long he obviously loves her too!" Kazuha looked at her child with wide eyes
"Well" a deep, masculine voice said softly from the open doorway. Kazuha swung around to face the person she already knew the voice belonged to
"Daddy!" Kyoko cheered. Heiji strode over to the bed and lifted his daughter out of the bed, holding her above his head
"Hey sweetheart" Kyoko giggled happily as Heiji laid her down on the bed and planted a chaste kiss to her forehead
"You're home early" Kazuha commented pleasantly. Heiji turned to her and gifted her with a loving kiss, causing their young daughter to cringe in disgust
"Eww!" Heiji smirked against her lips but did not relent. Finally after a few more seconds Kazuha placed a hand on Heiji's chest and pushed him off of her
"We're in the middle of a story here" Kazuha said feigning frustration
"So I realized. Well by all means finish you're story, I'd like to here what happens to this Jii-san" Heiji sent her another smile, this time to silently mock her. She brushed off the implication and turned back to her daughter
"Where was I Kyoko?"
"Hisako was about to marry Jii!" she answered ecstatically
"That's right, so after her talk with the King and Queen Hisako was told to go to her chambers and wait. While she was waiting Jii was called in to see his parents"
"The King and Queen?"
"Right. They told him that if he was willing they wanted to arrange a marriage between he and Hisako. He was surprised at first but after a vast amount of coaxing he caved and accepted the arrangement"
"So Jii and Hisako got married!" Kyoko asked, now out of her blankets again
"Yeah did they?" Heiji asked, mirroring his daughter's excitement sarcastically. Kazuha raised her hand toward Heiji and lightly flicked him on the forehead.
"Aho!" he snapped back rubbing the sore spot on his forehead. She chuckled at his overreaction and faced her daughter again
"That's right honey. They were married and lived happily ever after. Now, it's for you to go to sleep" Kyoko slumped back under her covers
"Hai" she mumbled in defeat. Kazuha stood up then bent over to press a kiss to daughter's cheek. Kyoko smiled as her eyes closed, giving in to fatigue she had been ignoring. Heiji took Kazuha by the hand and led her out of the room. Just before she was completely out of the room she managed to flick the lights off then closed the door behind her. Once they were in their own bedroom Heiji pulled Kazuha toward him and wrapped his arms tightly around her, allowing no exit or escape
"That story was really lame" he stated plainly
"Aho it's my favorite story!" she retorted with a youthful fire in her eyes
"I know it is. Although it was kind of inaccurate" Kazuha raised a curious eyebrow
"Why do you say that?"
"Well for one you make me sound like the attractive one" he lowered his head and pressed their foreheads together softly. She was still smiling from his previous comment when she realized how close they suddenly were "and two, my parents didn't make me do anything, I told you how I felt of my own free will"
"I guess that's true but it took you long enough" Heiji leaned in and kissed her passionately, stealing whatever words she may have prepared right out of her mouth. When he finally broke their lip lock she looked dazed, almost awestruck
"But it was worth the wait right?" he solicited, giving her a melodramatic pair of puppy-dog eyes. She grinned in amusement and leaned up to press a chaste kiss to his cheek. Then she moved her head slightly so he could feel her breath on his ear
"Everyday" Heiji beamed joyfully at the reassurance in her words
Kyoko and Kagami can both be translated to mean mirror
Joumae soshite kagi = lock and key
