June 2028

"Bye bye!"

"Bye Yuki-chan!"

Yuki waved to her friend as she walked to her mother, another school day finished. Everything seemed to look fuzzy until she got really close, but since she always got to be close to mama, it didn't matter much.

"How was school, Yuki?" Sumire bent down and patted her daughter's head, all while taking in the scenery of the front yard around the school.

"Good!"

"Did you learn anything fun?"

"We did English!"

"That's wonderful!"

"Not as um… won-der-ful as mama!"

"Awww! Thank you, Yuki!" Sumire scooped her daughter up and kissed her on the cheek. "Did papa tell you to say that?"

"Yeah! Yeah!"

"You weren't supposed to tell her, Yuki!" Morgana whispered from her bag.

"Oh! Um… No!"

"Hmmm…." Sumire sheepishly grinned. "I'll have to talk to him later."

"No mama!" Yuki pouted.

"I'm not mad at him, Yuki!" Sumire giggled. "Don't worry!"

"Promise?"

"Mhm! Promise!"

Sumire's radiant smile easily pierced Yuki's little heart.

"Thank you mama!"

"Let's go home and play, okay?"

"Uh huh!"

Sumire set Yuki down and grasped her little hand, and the two proceeded to walk home. Once they arrived, Yuki tended to sit on the couch for and fall asleep after a minute, which ended up being a daily routine. In time, Sumire knew that Yuki would nap less, but for the time being, she was an energetic three-year-old that liked to party hard and nap hard. It was all adorable. When Ren arrived home, he'd often tickle Yuki awake, and from there, they would all play together as a family before eating dinner, taking baths, and reading stories before bedtime. Storytime was Yuki's favorite time of the day, as Ren, Sumire and Morgana all read traditional bedtime stories, both western and Japanese. They all agreed to wait a while longer before talking about any Phantom-Thief related stories, since they wanted to make it kid-friendly. Every night, Yuki would fall asleep in their arms, and they happily fell asleep together soon after.


Late July, 2028

During Yuki's first summer break, Etsuko frequently came over to play, and Yuki frequently went to play with Shizuku, who was walking, tumbling, running, and talking up a storm in the Sakamoto apartment.

"Hey there Yuki-chan!" Ryuji greeted the little girl as he opened the door.

"Hi, Ryuji-ojisan!"

"Oh wow, you can say my name, huh?"

"Mhm! Mama helped me!"

"You did it all yourself, Yuki." Sumire gave Yuki a nod and adjusted her bag as she looked up to her.

"I'm not sure who to believe! Anyway, come on in! Shizuku's been waitin'!"

Ryuji led Yuki and Sumire inside, and they found the apartment to be half in disarray, and half clean and pristine. The area in disarray happened to be anywhere Shizuku was, while Ryuji tidied up after her. At the moment, Shizuku was playing with two Featherman Action figures in the middle of the room.

"Guess who, Shizuku?" Ryuji called out to her, and she excitedly looked up.

"Yuyu!"

"Hi, Shizuku-chan!"

"Yuyu!"

Shizuku stumbled onto her feet and ran over to Yuki, giving her a big hug. Both Ryuji and Sumire felt their hearts give out at the sight, a series of "D'aww's" escaping them.

"Yuyu play!"

"Yes! I want to play!"

"Yay!"

Shizuku backed up, took Yuki by the hand, and showed her the action figures she was playing with. She had several figures, but her favorites were the yellow and green ones. Yuki picked out the purple one, and the two started to play while Ryuji and Sumire sat down on the couch.

"You want anything to drink, Sumire?"

"No, I'm fine, thank you."

"Sure thing. Ren working?"

"He is. You're off today?"

"Have to be. I'm not seeing too many patients right now, anyway. I gave Sakiya the day off from babysitting, since I knew she'd go crazy if she had to stay cooped up in here. Don't get me wrong, she loved Shizuku to death, but… you know."

Sumire giggled. "She went to exercise all day, didn't she?"

"Yupppp. Whenever she gets the chance, she goes to exercise and get herself back in shape. Some old habits die hard, I guess."

"I still exercise frequently." Sumire nodded and adjusted her glasses. "It's not something you could, or should easily let go. Every morning, Ren, Yuki and I all do exercises together!"

"That's good. I still get plenty of running in, chasing this little monkey around."

"Like daughter, like father." Morgana snickered as he emerged from Yuki's bag and walked over to Ryuji and Sumire..

"She really is like me!" Ryuji laughed. "My mom says I was just like her when I was that little. Well, except…" His face darkened as a scowl formed across his face. "...It's not worth bringing up. I'm working to be the best dad ever for her, unlike mine."

"You're doing a great job already, Ryuji." Sumire gave him a reassuring nod, and a smile cracked across his face again.

"I know. I'm making sure of that! Who's the best papa ever, Shizuku?"

"Papa!"

"See, Shizuku knows!" Ryuji giddily laughed and rubbed his hand together.

"My papa is the best!" Yuki yelled.

"I agree with Yuki, Ryuji. Also, Ren would beg to differ." Sumire smirked.

"Oh man… Considering how goofy he was when he hung out with us, I can't imagine what he's like at home as a dad."

"He's wonderful. He's so kind and caring, and he does everything he can to make us smile. Every day, I'm grateful that we've come this far together. I've never felt more satisfied in my life."

"Hmmm…. I feel the same way, basically. Sakiya just… makes me feel happy, and Shizuku makes me feel, like… Complete? It's hard to put it into words."

"I know exactly what you mean." Sumire nodded with closed eyes.

"We're basically at the end of the road for fun life developments, aren't we?" Ryuji chuckled. "We did all the big, crazy things we wanted to do, and now we're all working and supporting our kids."

"That's one way to put it. To be where I am now, taking care of my child with Ren, I think that's where I've always wanted to be, even if I didn't know it at first. Our journey is complete, and now we're doing everything we can to raise her right."

"Yeah… That's it. Kinda anticlimactic, isn't it?"

"What do you mean, Ryuji?"

"Oh, just..." Ryuji scratched his head. "I know it was the point, but we all turned out pretty normal in the end. Being a Phantom Thief was the craziest thing in our lives, and nothing really compares, I think?"

"I don't think that's true." Sumire shook her head. "I think that what we chose to do with our lives is infinitely more satisfying and important than what we did as Phantom Thieves. We only acted so we could have a chance to accomplish our dreams, after all."

"...Heh. Can't disagree when you put it that way. I'm not even that proud of my bronze, but I am proud of showing Sakiya how I felt, and I'm proud of my work as a Physical Therapist!"

"That's exactly it. My gold medal is a symbol of everything Ren and I have done together, and everything we will do together."

Yuki's ears perked up like a hound hearing a door knock, but she continued to play with Shizuku.

"The Summer Olympics are in a few weeks, aren't they?" Ryuji pulled out his phone. "Yup." He looked at Sumire. "Gonna watch 'em?"

"I am. Will you?"

"You bet."

"I can't wait to watch all of the rhythmic gymnasts perform!"

"Heh. Can't believe it was for years ago that Sakiya and you per-"

"Papa! Stinky!" Shizuku waddled up to him.

"Uh oh! Looks like it's time for a diaper change!" Ryuji picked her up and jumped to his feet. "Be right back!"

"Come take over, mama!" Yuki held out the green Featherman figure.

"Sure!" Sumire moved from the couch to the floor, taking the figure. Morgana wandered around the living room of the apartment in the meantime, relaxing.

"Yay! We stop blue together!"

"Blue? Why blue?" Sumire tilted her head curiously.

"Futaba-obasan said blue is bad."

"Yusuke's color was blue…" Sumire sighed. "I'm going to have to talk with Futaba…"

"She said orange was best!"

"Who is orange?"

"Hana-obasan!"

"Futaba…"

Sumire mentally noted that she needed to have a talk with Futaba, and proceeded to play with Yuki. Ryuji returned with Shizuku soon after, and they continued to play. Near the end, Morgana came in as the big bad guy, which resulted in Yuki and Shizuku combining their Featherman forces to take him on, and in defeat, he fell over, and they proceeded to pet him. Ryuji and Sumire watched, and a question arose.

"Ryuji, do you think Shizuku can talk to Morgana?"

"Huh? Oh right… I haven't tried yet. Morgana! Shizuku!"

"Hm?"

"Papa!"
"Morgana, I want you to say a word, and Shizuku, if you understand him, repeat after the kitty!"

"Oh… uhhh… Tuna!"

"Tu-na! Tuna!"

Ryuji and Sumire's eyes widened.

"You want tuna, Mona?" Yuki picked him up and pet him.

"Tuuuuna!"

"Well would you look at that!" Ryuji laughed.

"Now I'm even more confused." Sumire ran a hand through her hair. "What makes it so one of our children can understand him?"

"I got no clue… Probably ain't worth asking about…"

Yuki and Shizuku quickly went back to playing together, and not long after the discovery, Sumire took Yuki home with Morgana.


From late July through early August, Sumire, Morgana and Yuki watched many of the Olympic events together, with Ren joining them when he could. They paid attention primarily to the rhythmic gymnastics qualifiers and all-around finals, where a Japanese woman won the gold, a Russian silver, and another Japanese woman a bronze. Ren later received a call from Kaoru, who excitedly told him his girlfriend had won the bronze in the Olympics. They then proceeded to brag about their significant others. Sumire and Ren told Yuki more about Kasumi, and eventually let her speak to her when they visited. They visited alongside Akane, Shinichi and Uzumi monthly, though Yuki was only starting to grasp the significance and importance of the visits. In September, school resumed, and time flew by.

While at school, Yuki proved that she was indeed a "wunderkind, excelling in every subject. Shy as she was, she could hold conversations with anyone that approached her. More often than not, her teacher asked her why she was always squinting, even after moving to the front desk. Yuki did not answer, stubbornly continuing to work. Her favorite activities subjects were knowledge and understanding of the world, creative development, and physical development. She liked every subject though, including mathematical development, communication, language and literacy, and personal, social, and emotional development.

As the year progressed, Sumire and Ren learned that Yuki had some personal and social development issues, as she had some difficulties with engaging in conversation. She could participate in them, but she didn't like to start them. Ren spoke with Maruki and asked if she might be autistic, but he doubted it, given that she didn't exhibit any other signs. He was prepared for either answer, and happy regardless. Yuki was his little girl, and nothing would ever change that. He wasn't surprised in the slightest that she might be shy, because her mother was, too. When it came to other subjects, like her auntie Sakiya, Yuki wanted to know everything about everyone. History fascinated her, but what little bits of science she learned fascinated her more. Day by day, she grew a little bit smarter. The world slowly opened up to her, like a fire slowly building from a few sparks.


On Yuki's days off from school, she'd spend time with Sumire, doing recreational activities, playing, and exercising with her. Everything still looked fuzzy, though, but she wasn't concerned about it. Occasionally, she'd spend a weekend with Futaba and Hanako, or Haru. Makoto worked every day, and when Yuki saw her come home while she visited, she always appeared satisfied. Haru acted as a natural calming force, one so sweet that Yuki wondered why she didn't have any children of her own. When Yuki first spent a weekend with Futaba, she was asked if she was being bullied. Her answer was no, and Futaba was relieved to hear that Japanese kids these days had decency. After that, she showed Yuki the glories of One Piece.

For Shizuku's third birthday, Ren, Sumire, Yuki and Morgana all spend time with her after a family visit. By this age, she resembled Sakiya, with a full head of blonde hair and beady emerald eyes. Yuki was only a bit taller than her, standing around 109 cm, while Shizuku was around 94 cm. Ryuji claimed that she had his legs, though.

As Ren watched Yuki bond with Shizuku more, and heard her talk about all the friends she made at school, he turned inward toward Tokyo, where his entire history with Sumire originated. By Christmas of 2028, he decided that they would move to a house in the Shibuya suburbs, one that was close enough for Yuki to continue attending the same school, and for him to continue working full-time at Tokyo Mental Health. On top of that, he collaborated with Haru, who promoted mental health safety in the workplace and beyond. To go even further beyond, she actively had workers set up charity funds and donations to places like Tokyo Mental Health. On the political side, Ren spoke to Yoshida, who gladly agreed to help push the issue more.

While he initially wanted to move out into the country to open his own practice, Ren decided to stay with Tokyo Mental Health, where he was well-known, renowned, and could reach out and help more people. Taking big leaps like moving into the country wasn't fun or exhilarating anymore, he realized. What he found to be blood-pumping and adrenaline-inducing now was having his daughter jump into his arms and tell him what she did every day.

Yuki's smile and Sumire's smile were everything to him.


The next year of the Amamiya family's life was relatively uneventful, with the exception of Shizuku starting kindergarten and the big move, which took place during Yuki's summer vacation.

In April 2029, Shizuku began attending the same kindergarten as Yuki, and while they didn't see each other during class, they always met up in the morning and after school to wait for their parents. Yuki's fourth birthday party was celebrated both at school and at home, much like her third. For a trip, Ren and Sumire took her to the planetarium, where she fell in love with outer space. All the while, Yuki took note of the gold medal that sat on the bookshelf in their apartment, and her curiosity only grew as time passed. There was only one problem, though, and she couldn't quite make out what it was yet. After her birthday party, Ren sat them down in the apartment, which he and Sumire had lived in for little over ten years now.


May 11th, 2029

"So…" Ren crossed his arms as he sat down at the dinner table, three freshly made plates of curry, and a plate of tuna sitting atop it. "How do you all feel about moving out?"

"Moving out?" Sumire tilted her head as she took a bite of her curry.

"Yeah. I love this place just as much as you do, but I think we need to go somewhere… bigger. Yuki can't sleep in our bed forever."

"Yes she can!'
"Yes I can!"

Both Sumire and Yuki puffed their cheeks and pouted.

"Jeez… I mean, if you really want to, we still could, but in a bigger house!" Ren held out his arms.

"How big is it, papa?" Yuki's eyes lit up as she leaned over the table.

"Take this apartment… and make it four times the size! It'll have sixteen times the detail, too!"

"Detail?"

"Err, there will be more room to decorate stuff. I know you love decorating, Sumire."

Ren knew he hit the jackpot, as Sumire started to shake in her seat.

"Well… I can only do so much in this small apartment…"

"Exactly. " Ren held up his hands in two finger guns.

"Where is it, exactly?" Sumire ran a hand along her ponytail.

"Southwest of Shinjuku, west of Meiji Jingu, north of Tokai University and the University of Tokyo Komaba Campus, which is where we went to university, in a Shibuya suburb."

"I see!"

"Is it close to my school?" Yuki asked curiously.

"It's not too far away. You'll still get to go there and see Shizuku, don't worry."

"Okay, good!"

"I'll go wherever you all want to go!" Morgana exclaimed between bites. "My real home is in Yuki's bag, after all."

"Thanks, Morgana. So what do you think Sumire, Yuki?"

"I think moving will be a fun family experience, and I could definitely use the change in scenery."

"I agree with mama! I wanna see a new house!"

"Then it's settled. We'll move when Yuki starts summer vacation."

With an agreement made, the Amamiya family finished their dinner and went about their night.


Summer 2029

In the weeks following the move announcement, Sumire slowly but surely started to pack all of their things while Ren finished arrangements to move into the house. He brought them over for a tour, and it was huge, at least when compared to anything they had ever lived in. Not only that, but it was a mansion. In complete awe, Ren and the real-estate agent, who was a business partner of both Haru and Takakura, showed them around. The carved stone exterior gave way to a massive interior, with a main living room appearing to extend for a mile, three bedrooms, to marble-carved bathrooms, an upstairs room with a gorgeous view outside, and a basement. Sumire asked Ren how he could even afford the mansion, and he simply replied that he'd been saving for a while, and had connections. Yuki and Morgana ran around together with complete and utter glee, taking in the near-infinite, new space they were going to live in. To Sumire, it was huge. To Morgana and Yuki, it was an entire new planet.

After returning home, Sumire took her time with the cleanup, putting away all of Ren's mementos knick-knacks, calling Futaba over to help her pack the PC, and taking down the posters they had. The last things she decided to pack were her medal and leotard, which she looked at for a long time as she stood alone in their apartment.

"Eleven years… Ren and I did so much in this apartment." She spoke out loud, and heard her own voice crack. "We accomplished our dream here… He decorated everything because he loves me so much… we had little Yuki here, too."

Innumerable tears escaped her eyes as she buried her face into the leotard.

"I'm going to miss this place… so much. Oh Ren… You must be hurting, too…"

Drying her tears, she pulled out her photo album and looked through the various pictures of herself, Ren, and her friends throughout the years as they hung out in the apartment. As she flipped through it, she got to all of Yuki's pictures, of which there was a number nigh uncountable.

"We made so many memories… This is Yuki's only home… Morgana is the guardian… But… We still need to move forward. There's so much to do in a new home, so much to plan. I want to make it the best home for Ren, Yuki and Morgana!" Sumire found herself pumping her fist, and with a smile now cracking across her face, she folded her leotard and put it in a suitcase, the golden metal on top.


Moving in proved to be more difficult than moving out, as Ren and Sumire coordinated with one another, Yuki, and Morgana to set up everything where they wanted it to be. The first order of business was that Yuki got her own bedroom. She was free to sleep with them if she wanted, but it was going to be an option, not a necessity. The second was setting up the PC. Third, the beds. Four, everything else. With Ryuji and Sakiya's help on their days off, as well as Hanako and Futaba's, the family managed to set up their home completely within two weeks. Ren got some advice from both Shinichi and Daisuke on how to manage a home and all the bills, and he did what he does best. Wing it.

By the time Yuki started school again in September, they had completely set up the bookshelf and all of its decorations, with the medal flying high. Sumire started her job as an elementary physical education teacher at Yuki's school. When they went together, they wore the designated school outfits. On her days off, though, Yuki wore a dark violet dress with a pattern of light purple flowers, with Sumire's bright red ribbon tied into her hair, and two cherry blossom pins tied into her pigtails. White white streak in her hair mixed with the rest of her bangs, which was identified as poliosis, the lack of melanin in the hair shafts.

Sumire's blue and purple leotards were displayed next to one another in the main living room, a testament of her accomplishments. Everyone was invited over to scout the house when they had free time, and by Christmas, all of Sumire and Ren's friends and family had visited at least once. Throughout the entire journey, Yuki and Morgana had an absolute blast exploring the place. In February of 2030, Yuki admitted to Morgana only that she had a hard time seeing everything until she was really close, and by her fifth birthday, her parents discovered the truth.

Yuki was blind as a bat, just like her mother.


May 12th, 2030, Evening

"Yuki, don't climb on the shelf." Sumire pulled Yuki from the bookshelf, and she let out a distressed cry.

"I can't see the medal, mama!"

"The medal? You mean my gold medal?"

"I want to read it, but I can't see it!"

"You can't see it? From how far?" A worried look crossed Sumire's face.

"Anywhere! It's all blurry!"

"Oh dear… Ren!"

"What's up?" Ren poked his head in from the kitchen.

"I think Yuki might have bad eyesight…"

"Really? Hold on a sec…"

"I'm sorry mama…" Yuki gripped the sides of her dress, tears forming in her eyes.

"Don't cry, Yuki! I'm not mad! It's not your fault, either! I didn't realize you wanted to look at the medal so badly!"

"I didn't ask you either…"

"You don't need to ask about it." Sumire took a deep breath and hugged Yuki. She felt her body slowly relax as she surrendered and embraced Sumire back.

"I just wanted to read it… "

"We can look at it together, okay?"

"Mhm…"

"I could have gotten it down for you, Yuki!" Morgana jumped onto her shoulder.

"I wanted to do it myself… It was a secret…"

"Don't be like that! We're partners, aren't we?"

"Well… Um… Yeah…"

"You must have some special reason to want to look at that medal, huh?"

"Noooo…." Yuki puffed her cheeks.

"Alright, dinner's ready, what's up?" Ren cheerfully walked up to Yuki after entering the living room. "You've got bad eyes, Yuki?"

"Um… Kinda…"

"Hmmm…" Ren backed up a few steps and held up seven fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"O-One… Three…?" Yuki squinted and concentrated as hard as she could. "It's all blurry…"

"Oh jeez… you're just like mama then!" Ren walked back up and ruffled her hair. "You're gonna need glasses!"

"Like mama…"

"I'll schedule an appointment." Sumire gave her a reassuring smile. "I know exactly what it's like, Yuki!"

"Glasses help me see better?"

"Yes! I've worn glasses since I was a little girl! It's not a bad thing, don't worry!"

"You're gonna look super cute!" Ren laughed. "Everything is going to look totally different when you put them on!"

"Did you wear glasses, papa?"

"I did for a little bit, but they were fake."

"Why?"

"That's a story for bedtime." He kissed her on the cheek. "Can you wait until then? We need to eat dinner."

"Okay."

"That's my girl!" Ren pulled her in for a hug. "Don't be scared about this, okay? I know it's weird, but some people just can't see as well. Glasses will make the problem go away, and you won't even need to think about it anymore."

"Mhm." Yuki gripped Ren's shirt, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I heard you were trying to look at mama's medal?"

"Mhm. I wanted to read it."

"We'll tell you about that too, okay? After dinner."

"Okay. I'm hungry."

"Yeah, I know. You've got mama's eyes and her stomach. And her cuteness. And her talent…"

"Ren!" Sumire blushed lightly, shushing him while talking on her phone. Ren picked Yuki up and carried her to the kitchen, where he set her down and had her help him bring out plates and dinnerware. After Sumire finished her call, she explained that Yuki was scheduled for an eye appointment within the week. They all quietly ate together, and once they finished, Ren and Sumire sat together on one side of their couch in the living room, while Yuki sat on the other with Morgana.

"Which story do you want to hear first, Yuki? The medal, or about my fake glasses?"

"The medal!" Yuki excitedly smiled and pet Morgana's ears. "I really wanna know!"

"Why haven't we told her before?" Morgana purred.

"I wanted to wait until she was old enough to understand the feelings behind it." Sumire calmly answered. "Or, until she asked about it."

"It is very special to us, after all." Ren nodded. "Why don't we have mama start?"

"Hold on, Ren. Why don't we tell Yuki about how you wore glasses, since that happened before and leads to the medal?"

"Hmmm… If you say so. That sound good, Yuki?"

"Tell me, please!"

"You're so formal… Just like mama!" Ren laughed and cleared his throat. "Alright. So this story is a really long one. I'll just tell you the most important part right now. A long time ago, I was framed, and labeled as a bad person!"

"No way!" Yuki's jaw dropped. "You're not a bad person papa!"

"I know, but some evildoers thought I was, and they had enough power to make everyone else think so too!"

"Really?"

"Yup. I had to leave my home and move to a mysterious new land. Tokyo!"

"That's here!"

"Exactly! You remember the last time we visited grandma and grandma live, right? There's nobody around, it's quiet, and everyone is super friendly!"

"Masami-obaasan and Daisuke-ojiisan!"

"Yup! They were very sad, because I had to leave, and they couldn't do anything. The bad guys made them listen. Papa was angry at everyone for a long time. He didn't know why this happened to him, and he had no one to rely on. He didn't want anyone to think he was a bad guy, so he put on fake glasses to look normal. He was scared, and alone… that is, until I met…"

"Mama!?"

"That's right! You're so smart, Yuki!" Ren leaned forward and patted her head. "I was all alone in Tokyo, until I went on a train one day and saw this girl with beautiful red hair and a big red ribbon! She talked to me like I was a normal person, and I completely fell in love with her!"

"Papa really was hopeless, Yuki." Sumire smirked and wrapped an arm around Ren's shoulder, pulling him close. "He didn't know where he was going, or what he was doing, but he was so nice to me! Whenever I talked to him, I felt super happy!"

"Did you make mama blush, papa?"

"Oh boy did I!" Ren grinned mischievously. "That was something I did every day!"

"H-Hey!" Sumire lightly blushed. "I made you blush, too!"

"Sure you did…"

"Yuki, watch!"

Sumire grabbed Ren's cheeks with both hands and pulled him in for a kiss. Once she released it, Ren was red-faced, his eyes swirling.

"Wow!" Yuki's eyes sparkled. "You're so…"

"Bold!" Morgana yelled.

"Ahem." Ren shook his head quickly and looked back at Yuki. "Okay, yeah, mama did that sometimes. But I was the one who made her blush more!"

"Show me, papa!"

"Yeah, show us!" Morgana laughed.

"H-Huh? Wait, hold on…" Sumire's lips quivered, and she felt a blush start to crept up her cheeks.

"Sumire." Ren looked at her with a loving gaze.

"Y-Yes?"

"I want to have even more children with you!"

"M-More?"

Sumrie's face cheeks turned a fiery red, like a volcano about to erupt. "B-B-But we only just had Yuki…"

"But she's five."

"Wait… I had a child with Ren…" Now Sumire's eyes swirled as her head dizzily bobbed around.

"I'm still a master at this." Ren winked. "I just hide my cards until the right moment."

"Are you and mama gonna make more babies?"

"Wait." Ren glared at her. "What do you know about that?"

"Futaba-obasan said a mama and papa make babies together!"

"Oh really?"

"Did she now?" Sumire's expression changed completely. "How much else has she told you?"

"Not a lot!" Yuki shook her head. "Don't get mad at her! Pretty please!"

Sumire took a deep breath and sighed. "I let her babysit four times and this happens…"

"Does Hanako know she's saying this stuff?" Ren squinted. "Morgana?"

"I try and stop Futaba when she starts ranting, but you know how hard it is to stop her…" Morgana shook his head. "She only starts when Hanako has to attend to something…"

"Futaba… Jeez…" Ren sighed. "Don't listen to a thing Futaba says, okay Yuki?"

"Ummmm…. But Futaba-obasan is really funny!"

"She is, but you can't listen to her. Listen to Hanako, instead."
"Hanako-obasan likes to tell me stories!"

"Her stories are kid-appropriate, I hope."

"Mhm! She tells me about gymnastics!"

"That's good." Sumire let out a sigh of relief. "We're going to have to rethink our babysitting plans…"

"Yeah… Anyway. Back to the story." Ren clapped his hands. "Mama and I were both outcasts, which meant nobody wanted to talk to us. Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba and Haru were like us too."

"For real?" Yuki mimicked Ryuji.

"Yup. Mama was different, though. To me, she was special."

"Mama is special to me too!" Yuki smiled.

"Awwww, Yuki!" Sumire leaned forward and hugged her. "Thank you!"

"I love you mama."

"I love you too!"

"You're stealing my hugs!" Ren joined them, wrapping his arms around them both. "I want to hug mama too!"

"Good! Hugs!" Yuki giggled.

"Ahh…. We need to get a family picture. It'd be a good way to celebrate moving into the house, right?" Morgana remarked.

"That's a great idea, Morgana!" Sumire cheered.

"We can do that soon." Ren nodded.

"A picture!"

"You all keep distracting me…" Ren closed his eyes. "Back to the story. In High School, all of us were Phantom Thieves!"

"Ph-an-tom Thee-ves?" Yuki tilted her head.

"Remember what I'd told you before, Yuki?" Morgana tapped her shoulder.

"Ohhhh… Oh!"

"So you've given her the rundown, Morgana?"

"For the most part. Stop evil people and…"

"Steal hearts!" Yuki cheered. "You made bad people be good!"

"That's basically what we did."

"Mona was the best one!"

"Uhh…" Morgana swallowed nervously.

"Of course he was…" Ren glared at him. "Did he tell you I was the leader?"

"Wha-? No!" Yuki's jaw dropped.

"Hmm… Seems like we need to correct that a bit."

"Tell me papa!"

"Alright." Ren slid out of bed, ran over to the bookshelf and grabbed his Joker mask. "This was my mask, Yuki. I wore it so the bad guys couldn't figure out who I was. I called myself… Joker."

"Ohhhhhh! Wait… Mama was one too?"

"She was."

"I technically wasn't…"

As soon as Sumire said this, she saw all the enthusiasm and wonder in Yuki's face vanish.

"Y-You weren't?"

"I mean of course I was!" Sumire set Yuki on the bed, jumped up, ran over to Ren, and took his hands. "I was Violet! To stop bad guys, papa and I used to do this!"

In a rapid set of movements, Ren and Sumire managed to pull off most of their showtime attack, focusing on the final spin and pose.

"Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!" Yuki bounced up and down joyfully. "It looked cool, but it was super blurry!"

"Oh, right!" Ren laughed. "We call that "showtime," Yuki. We'll show you again after you get glasses." Ren put on his Joker voice.

"Okay!"

"Should I show her…" Sumire gave him a curious glance.

"Definitely."

"Okay…" Sumire jumped up, jogged to their bedroom, and came back with the case holding her gun. After placing it on the wooden floor, she carefully opened it and took it out.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?" Yuki's eyes practically popped out of their sockets as she jumped up to get a good look at it. "Is that…?"

"This is what I used to stop bad guys." Sumire nodded and flipped the gun by its lever. "It's fake, though. A replica."

"Mama was super cool!"

"She was." Ren nodded. "I had some cool stuff of my own, but I have to keep some secrets."

"Awwwwwww." Yuki frowned.

"One of the most important things about being a Phantom Thief is keeping your trump card in your pocket, Yuki." Morgana sat on her lap. "I've been teaching you, remember?"

"Oh, right!" She smiled and pressed a finger over her mouth. "Shhhhh!"

"She's just so cute, I can't take it…" Sumire rested her head on Ren's arm.

"I know how you feel." Ren wrapped his hand around her shoulder. "Let's finish the story."

"Yes please!" Yuki cheered.

"Okay…" Ren and Sumire walked back over to the bed together after putting the replica gun away. "So all of us were Phantom Thieves, and we stopped a bunch of bad guys! But do you want to know something even crazier?"

"What? What?" Yuki bounced rapidly.

"When we went to stop bad guys… We went to a different world. Using our phones, we went to a different place called the Metaverse. In that place, we got special costumes and the masks, like the one I showed you. We have an old painting somewhere, right?" He looked at Sumire.

"Yes. We haven't put it up yet, though."

Sumire stood back up and walked back to their bedroom, and after a minute, she returned with one of Yusuke's paintings, where they appeared to be at a ball in their Phantom Thief outfits. She held it very close to Yuki, so she could make out the finer details.

"So pretty…! Papa looks so cool!" Yuki practically glued her eyes to it.

"Heheh…" Ren scratched his cheek. "I'm cool…"

"Mama has a leotard!"

"Yes, because I was a rhythmic gymnast."

"Mhm. Hanako-obasan, Sakiya-obasaan, and you were all gymnasts!"

"That's right! We'll show you again after you get glasses and can see better, so don't worry!"

"Thank you mama!" Yuki jumped back and pondered. "Oh… Then the medal…" She turned and looked back toward the bookshelf.

"We'll get there in a minute." Ren tapped her shoulder. "Now, when we were working as Phantom Thieves, everything was going smoothly, but… one day… one bad guy told us that mama wasn't even the same person!"

"Mama was fake?" Yuki gave him a bewildered look.

"Yes!" Ren waved his arms for dramatic effect. "Think of it this way… What if one day, someone told you that you weren't Yuki. Instead, you were Morgana!"

"I'm not Yuki?"

"You are, but imagine if you weren't!"

"Uhhmmm…"

"I think this is too hard to explain right now." Sumire closed her eyes. "In any case, this was a very important moment in both mama and papa's lives. When I learned I wasn't me… I became very sad. I cried a lot, and I didn't know what to do. Do you know what happened, though?"

"Did papa help you?"

"Yes. Papa told me he still loved me, no matter what. He didn't care how much I cried, or how much I said I was worthless… He helped me learn to love myself."

"You're giving me too much credit, really." Ren waved his hand.

"I'm not." Sumire shook her head. "It's because papa helped me that I won that medal, Yuki.

"How?" Yuki twirled the white strands of her hair.

"When I was little, around your age, I made a promise with my sister, your aunt Kasumi."

"Kasumi-obasan… You don't have to talk about her, mama."

"It's fine." Sumire gave her a reassuring nod. "Kasumi's resting happily. You see, Yuki, we promised to take the world stage together."

"World stage?" Yuki looked back at the medal again.

"Yes. When Ren told me he loved me no matter what, he also decided to help me with that promise. Do you know what he said, Yuki? It still makes me smile to this day."

"What'd you say, papa?"

"I told mama that we were our world champions."

"World champions?" Yuki eagerly leaned forward, ecstatic.

"Yes. Do you know what mama said right after?"

"What? What?"

"I said that papa was right. Why stop at gymnastics? We'll be the true champions of our world!"

"You're silly, mama! What's the world?"

"You are, Yuki!" Sumire leaned forward and poked her on the nose.

"Mama!" Yuki leaped forward and buried her face into Sumire's chest.

"Now onto the next part of the story." Sumire patted her back and continued. "Papa decided to share my promise with Kasumi, and for years, I trained really, really hard with Sakiya to win the Olympics. You see, Yuki, the Olympics is "the World Stage." We wanted to show everybody in the whole world our dream!"

"And that's what the medal is?" Yuki looked up at her.

"Yes. Six years ago, in 2024, I performed for papa and Kasumi in front of the world, and I won that medal. Now, it's a symbol of our dream."

"Mama… You're so… amazing!"

"Not as amazing as you, Yuki."

"We've waited a long time to tell you this, Yuki." Ren stood up, placed the painting on the table, and grabbed the medal from its case. Holding it in front of him, he sat down in front of Yuki. "We wanted to make sure you'd understand how important this was to us, and how important you are to us."

"It's so shiny…" Yuki reached for it.

"Yeah. Watch this!" Ren split the medal into its four pieces, and set each piece down on the couch.

"You broke it!" Yuki cried out

"Nope!" Ren laughed.

"The medal splits into four pieces." Morgana reassured Yuki. "One for each member of the family."

"Oh!" Yuki picked up a piece and tried to read it. "Uhh… I don't know what it says."

"It says the Olympic number and the place it happened, which was Paris." Ren poked her nose.

"Mhm. The medal represents the story, Yuki."

"Thank you for telling me mama, papa, Mona!"

"We're happy to share it!" Ren pinched her cheeks. "Now, let's get to bed!"

"Awww… Okay…"

"We'll get you a pair of glasses soon, too!" Sumire giggled.

"Mhm!" Yuki scooted between them. "Night night! I get to sleep with mama and papa since I can't see!"

"Clever." Sumire giggled. "We still have to brush our teeth, Yuki."

"Oh! Let's go, mama!"

Sumire and Yuki went to the bathroom to prepare for bedtime, and Ren put the medal back together before placing it back in its case. He couldn't hide the wide smile on his face as Morgana jumped onto his shoulder.

"Sorry for now telling you that I've been teaching her Phantom Thief stuff."

"Haha. It's fine." Ren scratched his ear. "Who knows, she might need those skills one day, right?"

"I hope not…"

"Well, it's still useful advice, regardless."

"Mhm. This will help her with organization, planning…"

"And being awesome!" Ren snickered.

"Hehe. Yeah…"

Sumire and Yuki returned while the two reminisced, and they all went to bed soon after, a story told, a new history known.


May 17th, 2030, Kichijoji, After School

"Ah… I haven't been to this store in a while." Ren took a long, deep breath. "How many pairs of glasses do you own now, Sumire?"

"Quite a few." She giggled.

"What is this place?" Yuki squinted.

"This is an optometrist's practice, Yuki."

"Op-to-me-trist?"

"An eye doctor."

"Ohhh!"

"Let's head in." Ren pushed Yuki forward, and she took in, to the best of her ability, the rows of glasses along the wall. Red frames, green frames, black, white, none… And behind the counter stood a kind-looking woman wearing her own black-framed glasses.

"Welcome, Amamiya-san."

"Hello." Ren waved.

"You know her?" Yuki looked up at him.

"Yes."

"You must be Yuki-chan." The woman stepped out. "Please come with me."

"Okay!" Yuki excitedly walked up and followed her, leaving Ren, Sumire and Morgana to themselves. They waited for a few minutes, and they returned shortly after.

"Yuki-chan here is extremely near-sighted. She could wear contacts or glasses, but for someone so young, I'd recommend glasses."

"I wanna wear glasses! Like mama!"

"Sure thing. Let's pick out a pair."

The woman led Yuki over to the wall, and she excitedly looked over the numerous glasses.

"Hmmm…. Hmmm… I want these ones!"

The glasses Yuki pointed at had large, thin round black frames.

"Of course. I'll get the proper lenses."

"I remember having to wait a while to get my lenses…" Sumire sighed. "I guess the technology's come pretty far…"

"I'll be back soon!" With a smile, the woman picked up the glasses Yuki chose and disappeared into the back. After a relatively short wait, she returned holding two pairs of glasses, and held one out for Yuki. "Here you go."

"Thank you!" Yuki looked over the glasses before perching them on her nose and ears and looking toward Ren and Sumire. "Tada!"

"Aww!" Sumire clapped her hands. "You look so cute!"

"Hnnng…" Ren gripped his chest.

"How are they, Yuki?" Morgana whispered from the bag.

"I can see everything!" Yuki's eyes widened as she looked around. "Yay!"

"Mission accomplished, then." Ren recovered and nodded.

"Good!" The woman nodded. "Now, if you would follow me." She motioned to Ren and Sumire.

"Right."

Ren paid for the glasses and prescription, and the family made their way out.

"Oh! Papa!"

"Yes, Yuki?"

"The picture!"

"Right. Sumire, there's a picture place around here, yeah?"

"Mhm! Follow me!"

With Yuki walking between them the three held hands and made their way to get their picture taken. They made their way inside, spoke to the photographer, and posed themselves for the picture.

"Say Morgana!"

"Morgana!"

Soon after getting several dozen copies of the picture printed out and digitized, the family went home for the day.


May 20th, 2030

Upon returning to school the following Monday with Sumire, Yuki started to do even better in-class, now that she was able to see properly. As much as she loved to talk to her teacher, she was too shy and stubborn to tell her that she couldn't see well before, and so she relied on her friends to make sure she didn't fall behind. Morgana noticed right off the bat, then Shizuku, and then Sumire.

"I'm happy that I can finally see…" She thought to herself was she copied notes from the board. "Mona wouldn't stop telling me to just tell mama… I'm so silly! But papa says I shouldn't think about it too much… Gold medal… World… Me… Champions… Oh no Yuki! Don't get distracted!"

Yuki pushed her glasses against her face and continued listening to her teacher. At lunchtime, she joined the other kids to go to the cafeteria. Once there, she met up with Shizuku, whose blonde hair and green eyes stuck out among the students. She held her head high, though, like her mama and papa taught her. Morgana frequently snuck around the school to make sure she was never bullied, and even then, Ryuji and Sakiya made themselves known to the faculty and her fellow students at every open house. They were simply loud and proud of their little girl, if not a bit intimidating. Sumire was there, too, and even though she taught physical education, she did other duties as well. Like her parents, Shizuku was a loud, cheerful girl that was friendly with everyone. Despite her looks, she managed to make quite a few friends, with Yuki and Morgana being her "super best friends ever." Of course, Yuki was also her big sis.

"Hi Yuki-neesan!" Shizuku plopped down next to Yuki as they went to eat lunch.

"Hi Shizuku!"

"You have glasses!"

"I do! I can see a lot better now!"

"Hard to see?"

"Mhm. Everything was blurry before."

"But it's all better?"

"Yes. How are you, Shizuku?"

"Good!" Shizuku opened her bento box. "Math is fun!"

"You like math? I think my favorite subject is science! I love space!"

"Space?"

"It's the stars in the sky. It's.. the sky above the sky! The blackness above!"

"That's kinda scary…"

"I think it's super cool! Who knows if there's other stuff in space!?"

"Other stuff…?"

"Like… More Mona's!"

"I'm not an alien!"

"Shh, Mona!" Shizuku shushed him.

"Sorry!"

The trio went quiet and started eating their lunch. Once they finished, they went their separate ways back to class. Yuki and Shizuku spent every day like this, on top of making time to be with their other friends. The days flew by so fast for the two that they blended together, but they loved every day of it. During the weekends, they'd spend time with Etsuko, who came over occasionally to play. They played learning games together, heard stories from their mothers and fathers, and gradually formed a bond to the point where they did consider themselves sisters.

No matter how much she occupied herself, though, and how quickly those days turned into months, Yuki kept the gold medal and her mother's dream in mind. Her plan was to take action on Sumire's birthday, but before that was Ren and Sumire's dating anniversary.


January 17th, 2031, Afternoon

"Do we really need Futaba to babysit?" Sumire sighed as she packed the last of her clothes.

"Dr. Maruki, Rumi and Etsuko are all busy, and so is everyone else. Futaba might be a demon, but she's reliably available."

"I know… At least Hanako will be there."

"Exactly."

"I'm ready to go!" Yuki ran up to them with a big backpack and Morgana perched on it.

"All geared up, eh?" Ren patted her head. "You're going to be staying with Futaba and Hanako for the weekend, from today until the 19th. Sound good?"

"Mhm!"

"Thank you for agreeing to do this, Yuki." Sumire joined Ren in patting her head.

"Of course, mama!"

"I'll make sure Futaba doesn't do anything crazy." Morgana snickered.

"You're a lifesaver, Morgana." Ren moved his hand to scratch his ear.

"Hehe. I know."

With everything packed, the family departed from their home, first dropping Yuki off at Leblanc. The chime of the bell was a welcome sound as they opened the door, as was the face behind the counter.

"Heya!" Futaba raised her hand in a wave.

"Hey, Futaba. Sojiro off today?"

"Yup. He's lounging around, but now that Yuki-chan's here, I bet he'll spring right up!"

"Hi Futaba-obasan!" Yuki placed her backpack onto the back booth and excitedly ran around the counter.

"Heyo kiddo. You got big nerdy glasses like me, huh? Not bad."

"Mhm! I can't see, like mama!"

"You aren't the only one… Remember the rules about coming behind the counter when we're open?"

"Yeah, but no one is here!"

"Ack!" Futaba pretended to wince in pain. "So brutally honest!"

"Is Hanako-obasan busy?"

"Yup. She's doing the rounds today with her students. Should be free in a few hours."

"Yay!"

"I'm excited too, trust me."

"Are we gonna watch that?"

"Shhhh." Futaba shushed her.

"That?" Sumire appeared in front of the counter in the blink of an eye, before Futaba could even process it.

"Uh… You know… Featherman…?"

"Futaba…" Sumire's eye twitched.

"You're emanating a super scary aura, Sumire…" Futaba swallowed nervously.

"If you show anything remotely inappropriate to Yuki…"

"I won't! Promise! I'll even have Morgana make sure I don't!"

In a panic, Futaba clapped her hands together and bowed.

"I'll watch her, Sumire! Just relax!" Morgana reassured her while hopping out of Yuki's backpack.

Sumire took a deep breath, and Ren planted a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm leaving her to you, Morgana."

"Jeez… The babysitter is now the babysat…" Futaba sighed.

"Hanako will keep you in order!" Ren laughed.

"Yeah yeah… Has Ren taught you how to make coffee yet, Yuki-chan?"

"Not yet! We made curry though!"

"Hmmm… Well then, let's make a batch of curry together!"

"Yeah! Let's do it!"

"I'll handle her from here." Futaba gave Ren and Sumire a nod. "Go have fun and all that."

"Thanks, Futaba."

"Thank you, Futaba. I'm leaving you in Morgana and Hanako's hands."

"Aw come on, Sumire!"

"Bye mama! Bye papa!" Yuki ran back around the counter and hugged her parents.

"Goodbye, sweetie."

"Goodbye, Yuki." Sumire patted her back. "We'll be back in a few days."

"See you two." Morgana held up a paw.

"Goodbye!" Ren and Sumire spoke in unison as they made their way out.

"And there they go…" Futaba pushed her glasses against her head and adjusted the bun her hair was tied into. "Now where was that kid apron dad bought…"

"It smells so good in here…" Yuki walked around before making her way to the staircase. "Papa used to sleep up there?"

"Yup." Morgana and Futaba both answered.

"Can I see?"

Futaba shrugged. "Eh, sure, why not."

"Yay!"

Yuki ran up the staircase only to hear Futaba yell for her to slow down. Once she reached the top, she found a relatively empty attic, with nigh but dust around.

"Aw….It's empty."

"It wasn't always like this." Morgana hopped on her shoulder. "When Ren lived here, he had all those decorations you see in the house strewn all around."

"Wow… Papa had it hard…"

"It was a very wild year. Do you want to know something cool, though?"

"What?" Yuki's eyes flashed with excitement.

"You're standing in the headquarters of the Phantom Thieves!"

"REALLY?"

"Yup! This is where we planned most of our heists!"

"That's so cool! I wanna be a thief!"

"Well, I have been teaching you… Want a codename?"

"Yeah!"

"Hmmm… Well, Ren is Joker, and Sumire's is Violet…"

"Mama's name is the same!"

"It is."

"Hmmm… Hmmm…" Yuki lost herself in thought.

"I got it!" She leaned down and whispered into Morgana's ear.

"Not bad. Let's surprise your parents when they get back."

"Mhm!"

The duo went back downstairs, where they helped Futaba make a batch of curry and helped her with some other minor chores. A few customers visited, and all of them were excited to meet the little barista. Within a few hours, Hanako arrived. Her stark black hair reached her shoulders, but her blue-framed glasses and bright smile always caught Yuki's eye. She wore a white t-shirt with… Futaba's face printed on it, black yoga pants, and a blue jacket.

"Hanako-obasan!"

"Yuki-chan!"

The two shared a hug, and before long Futaba was standing behind Yuki, a fake frown on her face.

"Do I get a hug too, Hanako?"

"Of course!" Hanako giggled and pulled her in for a hug.

"Mwehehe…"

"How long have you been here, Yuki-chan?"

"Um… A few hours!"

"Were you waiting for me?"

"Mhm!"

"Thank you!"

The three of them all set up dinner together, eating curry and drinking coffee, or milk. Morgana was fed cat food, which Yuki carried in her backpack.

"Hanako-obasan."

"Yes, Yuki-chan?"

"Do you practice tomorrow?"

"I do."

"Aww…"

"I don't have anything going on Sunday, though!"

"Really?"

"Nothing at all! We could go to the park, take a walk, or…"

"Watch some shows inside!" Futaba announced.

"Yes, that."

"I wanna watch shows!" Yuki set her spoon down.

"Sure!" Hanako clapped. "We can do that on Sunday. Would you like to come practice with me tomorrow?"

"Oh! Yes please!"

"Don't leave me… Yuki-chan…" Futaba pretended to lose energy.

"You can exercise too, Futaba!" Hanako wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Hmmm…."

"I'll wear your favorite yoga pants!"

"Deal."

"Wow, Futaba." Morgana sighed.

"Shush, kitty!"

"I think he's enjoying the food!" Hanako giggled.

The four of them enjoyed their dinner together before packing some curry for Sojiro and walking to the Sakura residence.

"We're home!" Hanako began.

"And we brought a guest!" Futaba continued.

"Hmm? Well if it isn't Yuki-chan." Sojiro perked an eyebrow as he leaned up from his reclining chair. Despite the grey hair, he looked as suave as ever.

"Hi, Boss-ojiichan!" Yuki ran up to him, beaming a smile.

Hey, boss." Morgana meowed.

"Ah, you brought the cat." Sojiro reached out and pet him before looking back at Yuki. "You just keep growing bigger and bigger, huh? You've got glasses now, too."

"Mhm!" Yuki held up the box of curry.

"Is this for me?"

"Yes! Futaba-obasan and I made dinner for you!"

"Thank you very much." Sojiro took the box, a smile growing across his face. "How's school going?"

"Good! I have a lot of friends, and I really like learning new stuff!"

"Hmmm… Do you have a favorite subject?"

"Science! I love space!"

"That's good. You're a smart little one. Why don't you go now and spend time with Futaba and Hanako? I don't have many fun things to do with you."

"We could play shogi!"

"Shogi? You know how to play?"

"Mhm!"

"Huh. Sure then."

The group moved to the dinner table, where Hanako, Futaba and Morgana all watched Yuki and Sojiro play Shogi. She won every match they played, and no one was really surprised. The following day, Hanako showed Yuki the basic fundamentals of rhythmic gymnastics, while Futaba did her best to keep up without getting distracted and being lazy. While Yuki did enjoy learning about it, she wasn't a huge fan of applying it physically. Hanako completely understood, and afterward, the three bought crepes. On Sunday, they all went to the park, including Sojiro, spending a relaxing day together before returning home and watching shows like Featherman, which had a near limitless amount of episodes. The entire time, Morgana kept a close eye on Futaba, and no shenanigans were had. The next morning, Ren and Sumire picked Yuki and Morgana up, thanked Hanako, Futaba and Sojiro, and made their way back home.


Meanwhile

As Ren and Sumire parked outside of the Royal Park Hotel, they felt a sense of freedom overcome them that they hadn't felt since the last time they let someone babysit Yuki. Upon checking in, they made their way to their hotel room on the second floor, which offered a grandiose view of Tokyo while not being too high up. The decal and atmosphere of the room was modern, with a mix of black, grey, white, and tan colors creating a pleasing, aesthetic feeling. In the center of the room was a queen size bed, perfectly folded and soft. One corner housed the door to the bathroom, another a desk, the third the main entrance, and the last a spot to lie down next to the window.

"Ah…" Ren stretched and let out a long sigh. "This is nice."

"It's so quiet…"

"Just the way I like it."

Sumire closed her eyes for a moment and let herself relax. These occasions were few and far between, and after the second or third time, she fully embraced them. She loved Yuki with all her heart, but she knew that breaks were good. The first time Ren suggested it, she felt a sense of revulsion, but after agreeing, which took her a good hour of convincing to do, she loved it. Yuki was in good hands each time they went on these little breaks, and she had Morgana to take care of her. Worrying was just a silly endeavor she couldn't help but do, but Ren's smooth words and soft hands eased her greatly.

"You mentioned there was a buffet here?"

"Yup. It's not quite as big as Wilton, but it's still pretty great. Variety is the spice of life and all that."

"Right." Sumire walked over and pressed herself against Ren's back. Even though they slept together every day, taking in his smell and presence felt different at the moment. He was strong, but at the same time so tender.

Most of all, he was all hers for the weekend.

Both of them acknowledged this at the same time, and while Sumire felt good and in control, Ren felt… excited and nervous. He looked out the window and found that the sun had already set. Just unpacking and relaxing in their room had made time fly.

"So what do you want to do, Sumire?" Ren grabbed her hands and spun himself around to face her.

"I want to spend tonight with you. All of you."

"O-Oh." A river of pink flooded Ren's face, starting from his cheeks. "Tonight? This is a three-night thing, you know."

"That's exactly why. We have three nights to ourselves."

Ren's blush only deepened, but the way his body acted told Sumire something else entirely.

"I've been thinking, Ren… Yuki's almost six years old, and we just moved into a big new house…"

"Yeah…"

"Remember when you joked about wanting to have more kids?"

"I… Sumire… Do you mean…?"

Sumire pushed herself against him, leading him until his legs met the bed.

"You know exactly what I mean."

Over the course of the next three days, Ren and Sumire spent several romantic nights together, and in the meantime, they went on little dates to small bookstores, cafes, parks, and other scenic areas around Tokyo.


March 6th, 2031, After School

"Happy birthday, papa!"

As Ren stepped into the front door of his home after work, he was met by an ambush from Yuki, Morgana and Sumire.

"Happy birthday!"

The three of them binded him in a hug from two sides, and a wide smile crossed his face.

"I surrender! You caught me!"

"Ambush successful!" Morgana snickered. As Ren looked down toward Yuki, he saw that she was holding his Joker mask.

"Put it on, papa!"

"Sure." He took a hold of it, and as he did, he felt something silky on the backside. "What's this?" He flipped it over and found two red gloves taped to the back of the mask.

"Are these…?"

"Yup! Yup!" Yuki bounced. "Your gloves!"

"Well well…" Ren shot a smirk at her and Sumire before putting on the gloves and mask. "It's showtime!"

"I think you look as good as ever." Sumire kissed him on the cheek. "Too bad I already stole your heart."

"Hey!" Yuki puffed her cheeks. "I was going to steal his heart! That's not fair, mama!"

"Sorry, Yuki, but his heart is mine and mine alone."

"Hmmmmm... Fine! I'll just steal your heart, mama!"

"If you think you can, go ahead."

"Just wait!" Yuki grinned. "I'm gonna steal it soon, but right now it's papa's birthday!"

"That's right, Yuki." Morgana hopped on her shoulder and nodded. "We have some things to do first. Sumire's palace is complex, but we'll have her treasure in no time."

"Mhm!"

"Do you want me to help?" Ren grinned and adjusted a glove.

"Yes, papa!"

"Very well. We'll talk about it later."

Good luck!" Sumire giggled. Her heart was just about ready to melt into a puddle. "I made your favorite dinner, Ren."

"Steak?"

"Steak."

"You're the best!" Ren wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

"Oh no! Joker's been hit by Sumire's charm!" Morgana yelled.

"We gotta run, Mona!" Yuki bolted past them and hid in her room. "What are we gonna do?"

"I'm not sure… Maybe if we just play along for now, we can figure out how to break it!"

"Hmmm… Maybe if papa eats, he'll snap out of it!"

"That might work! Let's just act normal for now!"

The duo made their way back out to the living room, where Ren had taken off his gloves and mask, and sat down at the dinner table with Sumire. Acting as discreetly as possible, Yuki climbed into her chair and started eating.

"How does it taste, Yuki?" Sumire gave her a loving smile, which made her want to surrender to her.

"It's really good, mama! You won't get me like papa, though!"

"Yuki, I'm happy that you want to play Phantom Thief, but I don't want you to play it from now until you steal my heart. You'll break my heart before that happens."

"Oh..." Yuki frowned and looked at Ren. "This is hard, papa."

"No one said it was easy. We can play together, but act normally when we're not planning, okay? Mama will never see it coming if we pretend everything is normal. Make sense?"

"Wow! So that's why you're Joker!"

"Hey, he learned everything from me!" Morgana hissed.

"Hehe." Ren continued to eat his steak. "We'll talk in the secret spot after dinner, okay?"

"Okay, papa!"

Sumire couldn't help but smile as she watched Yuki bond with Morgana and Ren over being Phantom Thieves. Watching them be happy together was more satisfying than anything she could think of. Once they all finished dinner, she went to the bathroom while they went to their "secret spot," which was simply the upstairs area of the house.

"Alright, you two." Morgana jumped up on top of the couch. "Let's start from the beginning. Snow, go ahead."

"Right!" Yuki nodded. "On mama's birthday, I want to steal her heart!"

"You say that like you haven't already." Ren rubbed his chin.

"I want to do it for real! You know mama's medal, right papa?"

"Yep."

"It splits into four."

"That it does."

"Mama said the medal is um… It en-en-cap-soo-lates everything their and papa has done together!"

"Encapsulates. Do you know what that means, Yuki?" Morgana spoke firmly.

"It means everything to her!"

"Basically!"

"What do you want to do with the medal then, Snow?" Rne put on his mask and gloves.

"I want to get a picture of us holding it!"

"A picture, huh?"

"Mhm! I look at the other family picture and it's super special to us!"

"It is." Ren nodded. "That was to celebrate us moving into this house."

"Yup!" Yuki jumped up onto the couch. "I want to get another one that shows everything you and mama have done together! With the medal!"

"Ohhhhhh. I see. That's genius!" Ren leaned forward and patted her head. "You'll capture mama's heart for sure with that!"

"Yay! Thanks papa! Oh, uh, Joker!"

"What do you think, Mona?" Rne looked over at his mentor.

"I think it's a perfect plan. Sumire will never see it coming… Even though she's in it."

"Well then it's settled. When will we do this?"

"On mama's birthday!"

"We just need to secure the route then!" Ren pumped his fist. "Let's do that this weekend."

"Okay!" Yuki held out her hand, and both Ren and Morgana rested their hand, or paw, on hers.

"Mission start!"


March 25th, 2028, Morning

Having managed to schedule no appointments, Ren secured the entire day off. Yuki and Sumire were out of school, waiting for the next term to begin in April. In the time since planning with Yuki and Morgana, he set up for them to get a family photo in the afternoon after going to the aquarium, zoo, the gym where Sumire practiced in Kichijoji, and visiting both Hanako and Sakiya. Ren, Yuki and Morgana all woke up before Sumire, and they drove to Dome Town to get her breakfast. After getting a massive to-go order, they drove back, stopping outside the front door to execute their plan.

"This is the end run, alright Snow?" Ren ran his hand through Yuki's bangs and helped her put on a large, ceramic mask that curved around her glasses but sat on her face. It was large and nearly encapsulated her face, much like Sumire's mask, but was white with a blue pattern that resembled Ren's joker mask around the eye holes.

"Our final mission!" She cheered.

"That's right. Once we steal mama's heart, there won't be anything left for us to do! Probably…"

"Got it, Joker!" Yuki grinned and giggled.

"We've gone through some intense training the past two weeks." Morgana nodded. "I'll scout the inside and make sure Sumire's awake and occupied."

"Thank you Mona!"

Ren and Yuki waited patiently outside as they slowly creeped the front door open and let Morgana inside. After a few minutes, he returned.

"Sumire's sitting in front of the window, reading a book. This is our chance!"

"Got it!"

Sneaking inside, Ren and Yuki tiptoed to the living room, silently set down the food, and looked toward Sumire, who appeared to have not caught on. Ren lifted Yuki onto his back to execute the ultimate birthday plan. Stepping up behind Sumire, Ren bent down, and Yuki covered her eyes.

"I'm gonna steal your heart, Mama!"

"Oh?" Sumire spoke with an air of confidence before jumping out of her chair, causing Ren to stumble back with Yuki. "I'll steal your heart first, Snow!"

"Uh oh! She knows my codename!"

Sumire ran up and grabbed Yuki off Ren's back, tickling her.

"Ah!" Yuki giggled uncontrollably. "Joker, help!"

"I'm coming!" Ren stood up.

"Actually, Mona!" Yuki cried out between giggles.

"What?" Ren winced. "Mona, did you really convince Snow that you're the best Phantom Thief?"

"I did, because I am!" Morgans snickered and jumped up onto Sumire's shoulder.

Ren groaned. "We'll have to talk later…. Anyway, Snow, are you forgetting to tell Violet something?"

"Oh! Um... I love you mama!"

"Awww! Thank you, Yuki!" Sumire stopped tickling her and kissed her on the cheek.

"Wait that's not it!' Ren laughed. "What else, Snow?"

"Oh!. Happy Birthday, Mama!"

"Happy Birthday!"

"Awww! Yuki! Ren! Morgana!" Sumire covered her mouth.

"Joker, Mona and I got a present for you! You gotta come with us somewhere though!"

"You're in the present, actually." Ren wrapped his arm around her.

"Ohhhhh... Well I'm curious."

"It was all Snow's idea." Morgana jumped on her shoulder.

"Really?" Sumire gave Yuki another kiss. "Now I'm even more excited!"

"Mhm! We got you breakfast! Pancakes and waffles!"

"Why thank you!"

"Hehehe. We got a lot!"

"Good!"

Yuki and Joker took off their masks and set up breakfast for Sumire. They all enjoyed their breakfast together, and after they finished, they donned their gear once more.

"Show us the way, Joker!" Yuki pointed toward the door.

"This will be our last surprise!" Ren scooped Sumire in his arms in a bridal carry and walked to the door, all while signaling for Yuki to grab the medal as he stepped out. Yuki hid the medal in her bag as Morgana hopped in, leaving Sumire none the wiser. Upon catching up with her mother and father, she hopped into the car. Their first destination was the zoo, where they looked at birds, bears, pandas, elephants, giraffes, tigers, and even a rhinoceros. Everyone had a blast, with Sumire and Yuki pointing out all of the different types of animals and talking about wanting to take them home, which Ren had to sternly refuse. Morgana bragged that he was the only pet they needed, which they eventually agreed upon. Next, they went to the aquarium, where Sumire found herself drawn back to her childhood as she became entranced by the penguins, as did Yuki. Ren contemplated letting them loose like he did one of their previous visits, but decided not to cause a scene. By the time they finished looking at all the fish, it was noon.

Not wanting to miss Sakiya, they drove to the school where she had worked for over a year now as a history teacher, and texted her to meet with them. Surprisingly, she made it.

"Hey! Happy Birthday, Sumire!" Sakiya beamed a smile at the four as they rolled down the window. Her hair was tied in several knots behind her head, and reached her shoulders. A pair of green-framed glasses sat on her nose, and she wore a white shirt and long skirt.

"Hi, Sakiya-obasan!" Yuki poked her head out the window.

"Hi Yuki-chan!" Sakiya gave her a quick head pat. "What's up?"

"I'm taking mama to different places for her birthday!"

"Good! She deserves it!"

"Having fun with your job?" Ren leaned his head back.

"I love it!" Sakiya grinned. "Once I felt comfortable enough to get Shizuku a babysitter, I signed up here and they took me! It's still difficult, but not in the way rhythmic gymnastics was, I'll tell you that!"

"It's a lot of fun, teaching kids how to take care of themselves." Sumire giggled.

"Physical education would have been the other thing I taught, if I could teach more than one subject." Sakiya looked at her and clapped her shoulder. "It suits you perfectly, Sumire!"

"Thank you!"

"Enjoying your birthday?"

"I am! Do you want to come with us?"

"Haha. Sorry, but you know I've got work to do."

"I know. We just wanted to stop by and say hello."

"I appreciate it! Can't wait to go home and see lil Shizuku, too!"

"Mhm! She's going to be starting her last year of kindergarten in April, right?"

"Yup. She doesn't want to be behind Yuki-chan for long!"

"I'm gonna miss her…" Yuki pouted. "But I hope first grade is fun!"

"You're gonna knock it out of the park!" Sakiya grinned at her. "I have to get back inside though. See you all!"

"Goodbye, Sakiya." Ren gave her a wave. "See you around."

"Bye bye, Sakiya-obasan!" Yuki waved with both her arms. "Mona says goodbye too!"

"Thank you, Yuki." Morgana purred.

"Goodbye, Sakiya!" Sumire wrapped one arm around her shoulder in a hug, which Sakiya returned.

"Goodbye, Sumire. Love you."

"Love you too!"

As quickly as she arrived, Sakiya disappeared into the school. Ren felt Hope pulse within him briefly, and they drove off to see Hanako at her studio.

March 25th, Afternoon

"Hello Ren-kun, Yuki-chan! Happy Birthday, Sumire!"

"Yo. Happy Birthday."

Hanako and Futaba walked up to the three as they stepped inside the studio. It was a simple place, with a large mat for gymnastics placed on the floor, various apparati scattered around, and other tools. Several girls were practicing on the mat, spinning, jumping, and rolling with different apparati.

"Hi Hanako-obasan! Futaba-obasan!"

"Hello."

"Having a fun birthday, Sumire?" Futaba gave her a quick hug.

"The best! Yuki arranged everything today."

"Did you now?" Futaba crouched down. "Good work, Yuki-chan."

"Heheh. Thank you, Futaba-obasan! I'm stealing mama's heart!"

"I think you did that before you were even born."

"Well I want to do it for real!"

Sumire giggled and ruffled Yuki's hair.

"I see. I think you're doing great so far." Futaba looked between the two.

"I agree with Futaba!" Hanako nodded. "Have fun!"

"We just stopped by to say hi." Ren nodded. "Yuki's starting first grade in April, so things are only going to get busier for us."

"I feel like there's another reason…" Futaba snickered. "But… Nah."

Sumire gave her a subtle, but smug grin.

"I hope we can keep babysitting you, Yuki-chan!"

"Don't worry, Hanako-obasan!" Yuki giggled. "You will!"

"Things really are going to get busier." Morgana nodded. "That's adulthood though, isn't it?"

"Yuuuuuuuup. Basically." Futaba pet his head. "All play, maybe some fun."

"I'm sure we'll be fine. We all got this far, didn't we?"

"Yessir!"

Ren felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

"Ah. The photoshoot is soon. Sorry Hanako, Futaba."

"Don't worry, Ren-kun!" Hanako waved her hand. "We can't leave our students unattended forever!"

"Yeah. get going." Futaba giggled. "We'll always be here if you want to visit!"

"Thanks."

"See you later Hanako, Futaba."

"Goodbye!" Sumire held out her arms and gave the two a hug. "I think the place looks great by the way, Hanako!"

"Thank you, Sumire! Good luck with everything!"

"Same to you!"

"Bye bye Hanako-obasan, Futaba-obasan! See you later!"

"Bye bye!"

Morgana waved a paw, and the family made their way out once more. After a short drive, they arrived in Kichijoji, where they quickly visited the gym where Sumire used to practice before making their way to the photographer. Once they stepped inside, Ren told the photographer to let Yuki get everyone posed, to which they agreed. Yuki stood in front of them on a small stand, while Ren stood on her right, and Sumire on her left. Morgana wrapped himself around Yuki's left shoulder, holding the gold medal in his mouth. Yuki split it into its four parts, handing one to Ren and Sumire. She dangled the front one in front of her by its red ribbon.

"Okay! We're all ready!"

"What should we say?" Ren winked at her.

"Hmmm… Say blossom!"

"Blossom!" All four of them cheered at once as the camera flashed.


April 13th, 2031

Ren, Sumire, Yuki and Morgana traveled to the Aoyama Cemetery, inviting their parents along. Once they arrived, Yuki helped Sumire clean the grave, and the two found themselves showered in cherry blossoms in the process. After scrubbing it clean, Sumire set down a bento box and a framed photo of the family holding the medal. With everything set up, Yuki stepped up and clapped her hands together, closing her eyes in prayer.

"Hi, Kasumi-obasan. I just wanted to say that I'm doing my best to help mama around the house! If you want to know how I'm doing in school… I started first grade! It's super fun, and some of my friends are with me! I'm working hard every day to be a good daughter! I have mama, papa, and Morgana helping me! They told me that my dreams are their dreams! That means they want to go to space with me one day! I hope you can watch us in space, too, because as a family, we share the dream together! Um, thank you for watching us all the time!"

Yuki opened her eyes and took a step back, and Ren stepped up next.

"Hey, Kasumi. You heard what Yuki said. All of our dreams are Yuki's dreams. What she wants to do is what we want to do. That's what being a parent is about, after all. She's a little genius, so I don't have any doubt in my mind that she's going to do great things. Rest easy now, and keep a close eye on her with us. Thank you."

Ren took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and backed up, letting Sumire step forward.

"Hi, Kasumi. I know I've already told you a hundred times, but… we did it. We finally became the champions of our world. Our world is a beautiful, energetic little girl who is so bright, and so smart. I wanted to thank you again, for being there alongside me the whole time. I love you, and I'm going to cherish every moment I have with Ren, Yuki, and the others who are on the way. Please keep watching over us all. I love you."

After finishing her prayer, the family cleaned up the grave and left the daily photo there. Upon returning home that night, Yuki, Morgana and Ren raised an important question, one that was bound to shape their future as a family.

"Mama. When you were talking with Kasumi-obasan, you said something at the end!"

"I did, Yuki."

"Yeah… You mentioned something about others on the way?" Ren nervously swallowed.

"Sumire… Don't tell me…" Morgana's eyes widened.

"Yuki, you're going to be a big sister!"

"Yay! Really? Really?"

"Yes! I'm pregnant!"

Sumire rubbed her belly excitedly.

"With twins!"