Chapter 7- A Parent's Insight
If there is one thing Hinata is happy about with being reborn, it's that she's gotten the chance to try out new things. She can rediscover herself while she's still young and absorb information like a sponge, so she can master many new things really quickly.
She has many regrets for things she didn't do or procrastinated on in her first life. So she's taking advantage of this new life and doing what she should have done.
Baking is one of them.
She had liked doing it before, but she never quite had the time or patience to master the craft. Something she is determined to remedy in this one.
She will be the pastry queen!
Even if she can't bake anything more advanced than cookies at the moment, and that's even with help. One day, she will make the most delicious cakes on the planet.
Cookies are fine for now though, especially since she's making them with her mom and big sister. It's been awhile since they've actually done anything together. And with her realization that Mar- Mom and Amane may die if she can't stop it, she's determined to spend as much time with them as possible. She wants them to have good and happy memories with her and for her own selfish reasons.
So she's more than happy to stand next to Amane and Youko, she and Youko on chairs and Amane on a box, helping their moms scoop, stir, roll and cut little shapes out of pale dough.
"So, girls…" Yume says. "We've got something to tell you."
"I knew it. The cookies are a bribe," Youko says cheekily, looking up at her mama.
"What ever are you teaching your impressionable daughters and nieces?" Hinata asks sarcastically with a smile.
Amane snickers. "What is it, mommy? Are you secretly fairy queens in disguise?"
The women both laugh at their daughters' silliness and smile warmly. Even Marie, the nervous-wreck, is happily going along with their antics. They're joyful, glowing even. It's infectious, their happy attitude and smiles.
Something seems familiar. Like Hinata should recognize their joy but she can't place it. They're happy, that's all that matters really.
"Well, we and your fathers have been talking. How would you like to get a few new playmates?" Marie asks cryptically, her eyes twinkling.
Hinata freezes and looks at Youko, who is also frozen from the question. They both recognize what's going on. It's a question always asked before…..oh.
"We're getting new friends?" Amane asks excitedly. "Amazing! When will they get here? Are they moving from far away like we did?"
Large, bright smiles cross both Hinata and Youko's faces.
"You're pregnant!" They both exclaim (shriek) together happily.
Yume feigns outrage. "What?! Who told you?!" She laughs, ruffling their hair. "Clever duo, aren't we? Can't ever do anything to surprise the two of you".
Marie joins the laughter. "At least Amane is surprised".
"We're gonna be big sisters!" Youko shouts happily while bouncing up and down in her spot.
"When are you due? What's it's gender? How far along are you both?" Hinata asks them rapidly, just as eager and excited as her best friend.
"Does this mean Hina-chan and I will finally get to share a room? Are we going to move again? What are we gonna name it?!" Amane adds in, joining in their happy dancing.
Marie gives them all cookies from the fresh batch out of the oven and makes them sit down by the table, slowly getting them to calm down before they break anything. Only then do they get their answers.
"Yume is a bit further along than me - she'll give birth sometime in August, hopefully," Maire explains, calmly sipping from a cup of tea. "And if all goes well, the two of you will have a new baby sibling in September."
All three girls cheer loudly and happily.
"I can't wait!" Youko yells, happy tears in her eyes. Hinata can understand why, Youko has told her how she never got to be a big sister last time and that she's always wanted to be. To know that her best friend is getting to be one now makes her so happy.
But it does leave her thinking… if she's (supposedly) Ryou born as a woman… who is this kid going to be? Was Marie maybe pregnant when she and Amane died?
A terrifying thought, but also very plausible.
Similarly, who is this new Mutou child going to be? Yugi had no younger siblings, and if Youko is in the same situation as herself…
She doesn't want to think about it too much, in all honesty. Now is a time of joy and happiness, not sadness. She's going to be a Nee-chan!
She can't wait!
This little sibling will be so precious to her. She'll protect them no matter what.
She will do whatever she has to to make sure they have the best life possible in this world.
No matter what.
Joey can't wait to get to Grandpa's daycare. More so than usual that day.
He's got great, big, very important news to share with all of his friends. No, with the world! He wants to tell ALL of the people out there who can hear him.
"I'm going to be a big brother!" He yells, storming into the room where his best friends in the whole world await him, after quickly greeting Mrs. Mutou in the door.
All of his friends shout in surprise, Youko tackling him into a hug. They all eagerly ask questions that he doesn't get really but answers what he can.
His day gets even better when he finds out that he gets two more siblings and friends! Because Ko-chan and Nata-chan's moms are also having babies!
They're all going to be the best older siblings in the entire world. He just knows it. They'll protect them from monsters and bullies and make sure they're always happy and never sad or in pain because that's what older siblings do.
Protect their younger brothers and sisters.
He can't wait!
He's got all of his aunts and uncles, grandpa, his best friends, and his even bestest friend! (Ko-chan is special so she gets a special title!) And now he gets to be a big brother!
He's very happy. They're all going to be one huge and happy family. Happily ever after.
Maybe his mama will even smile more when she sees him with the new baby, sees how great a big brother he'll be. He hopes she will. She's already been smiling more than he's ever seen her do, just by looking at her tummy.
Things are getting better. He just knows it.
When she realizes that something is growing inside of her again, Sally Wheeler's first thought is to scream.
Fuck no. Not again.
She really, really, really did not want to bring another one of Jared's spawn into the world.
But of course. Of course this had to happen. It's not like her life has been bad enough, anyways. Of course the damn condom had to "break" (if he was even wearing one, the selfish, manipulative, lazy bastard) and she'd be stuck with another parasite, another mouth to feed.
Because of course.
Her life can't ever be easy. Fresh out of high school, then pregnant with some jerk who was supposed to be a one-time fling. The creep from calculus, no less. (Gods, what had she been thinking. Drunk on "borrowed" booze from her dad's cabinet at a party, then home with the guy who'd been asking her out for years. Recipe for disaster).
Then her "forced" marriage so she wouldn't make a bad image for her parents and herself. (Supposedly). Ever the good, little Christian girl. Just jumping straight into the worst stereotypes. Wonderful.
She had been a foolish brat. Throwing her life away like that. She never got to actually "live" and be a young adult. No partying, no college, no concerts, no social life, no nothing.
And then. Then Jared had gone and shipped them off to Japan of all places.
(And it's not like she could have stayed with her parents, having burned all bridges with them, after that sham of a "wedding". So with no money or support, she had no choice but to move with the man she called her "husband".)
7 months pregnant and alone in an apartment in a place where she barely understood the language and culture. At least they got to live in a pretty international and multicultural city. Not that it did her much good without any friends or acquaintances. She was literally alone. She knew no one, had no one to turn to for help or anything. Jared had made it perfectly clear, too, that he wanted and expected her to stay at home and act like the dutiful "housewife", to top things off.
Hell to the fucking no. She wasn't going to stand for it.
She threw herself into books. She hauled her pregnant behind to the library and to classes to learn as much as she could, so she could get out and do something with her life. They needed the extra money, anyways.
When Joey was born, she thought she would go crazy. Being stuck in the apartment caring for him all day, unable to go anywhere.
Jared's little copy. The only part of herself in the lump of flesh was the colour of the hair, the rest was all him.
She hated it.
She resented the brat for it. After all, if he hadn't come along, she would be free and living her life, doing what she wanted.
Little parasite. She should've offed him with alcohol when she had the chance, but… there'd been the risk that it wouldn't kill him and just make him retarded, instead, which was more work for her. So she hadn't done it.
She's not going to do it with this one, either. Much as she resents the brat she gave birth to… he's a decent kid. Way too trusting of her and accepting of her (mostly accidental) neglect, but… he could be worse.
No, she doesn't love Jared's son. But she cares for him well enough she supposes.
She just hopes this new one won't be another mini-Jared. She can't handle two of them, let alone a third.
And so she will pray to whatever higher power there is for a girl.
Someone who'll be a tad more serene than Jared's son.
But hey, the brat she's got ended up getting her a better daycare deal than the place he was at before. Cheaper, and willing to let him sleepover for days at a time. She dislikes hand-outs, and she really can't stand that damn snob Marie Bakura and her youngest daughter is seriously weird (maybe autistic - she reminded Sally of a distant cousin with the condition - yet not). But she can recognize that the little group of kids is important to Jared's spawn, so she'll accept it.
That it gives her more freedom to be herself, not Sally Wheeler the mother, is just an even bigger bonus than first anticipated.
Anzu Gardner is a happy woman. She's got her own little business, a loving husband and a wonderful little daughter. Sure, she's busy at times, but it's nothing she cannot handle.
Generally, her life is good, and she likes to see the best in all people.
People like the Mutou's, Bakura's, and Taylor's.
They are all such lovely and kind families.
She doesn't want to open the can of worms that is the Wheeler family. She's been friendly with young Sally the few times they've met, but the woman just doesn't seem interested in making any contacts. She knows she feels lonely and alone, but… there's only so much other people can do in that case.
It's a shame, because she'd love to take her under her wing and help her - she's not blind, she knows that match isn't one of made out of mutual love and respect. She can easily tell that Sally isn't happy in it and is lonely. Why, if she just asked, Anzu is sure that her dear Adam would love to help her with a divorce or something of the sort.
But she knows that it's not her place or business to bring it up. Especially since they're barely even acquaintances.
So she stays quiet and tries to help when she can.
Joseph "Joey" Wheeler is a delightful little boy who'd introduced himself with his full name and a traditional bow the first time she'd met him. Brave and loyal and with a good sense of what is right and wrong. Adam believes there's a future lawyer in him, and Anzu can see it. Kind of.
She's more inclined to picturing a little adventurer, complete with safari hat and khakis, when she thinks of the boy's future. Just like she imagines robots for tech-savvy Tristan, a little tutu for her own Tea and, Amane with a lab coat and stethoscope, possibly as a doctor or a vet with her love of caring for others and, well… Youko and Hinata are still blank slates to her, but from what Suzuki and Yume tell her, the former has the lungs of a future opera star (despite her damaged vocal chords) and the latter is well on her way to becoming a pastry chef or a little dancer.
She's proud of all the kids, they're all wonderful and such good friends to her little girl. And Grandpa Mutou is a kind and good influence to all of them. A good stand-in for Tea's biological grandparents, who all live too far away to visit or be visited all that often. (And he's a retired professor turned shop-owner. If that isn't inspiring and admirable, she doesn't know what is).
She wonders who will end up with who, if any at all. With such a close-knit group, they're bound to either match up as couples or see each other as siblings forever. (Secretly, she thinks Joey and little Youko would make an adorable couple, same with her Tea and Tristan, but she will not push anything).
When the daycare is formed, Anzu throws herself into the teaching role. She explains to them the language of flowers and how to keep a flowerpot garden. Teaches math and, in collaboration with Solomon, how to run a shop. Teamwork and schedules, those sorts of things. How to manage themselves and their time.
She loves being Auntie-sensei (and Mama-sensei, Tea refuses to call her anything else) to the kids. Loves to help shape them into good citizens and responsible humans.
Bottomline, she just loves these kids.
And she loves their families. Even the odd and slightly dysfunctional ones.
Suzuki Taylor, nee Ootori, keeps a strict view on anything that pertains to, well… anything. She wants order in all aspects of her life, and she will make sure that it stays like that.
Or rather, she tries to make sure it stays like that. But giving birth to a rambunctious little boy, who has gotten equally rambunctious friends, kind of puts a stop to that.
At least there seems to be some kind of order to the chaos they cause. Elaborate plans and schemes concocted (usually thought of and lead by little Youko) out of sheer boredom or curiosity.
She tries to counter this by making sure they are never bored when in her house, but… she doesn't always succeed. (She reasons that the estimated 6 out of 10 times it works is still a victory and possibly as good as it's going to get when five 3 year olds and one 7 year old are grouped together). She's grateful that both Amane and Hinata seem to be the voices of reason for their group (most of the time), or at least for reeling Youko in. It's nice to have the help.
Luckily for her, they all seem to love and thrive off of music, especially Youko. (Hinata loves it too, and seems to think up her own little tunes, but she's not as passionate about it as Youko.) So keeping them interested and entertained is rather easy, especially when their unofficial leader enjoys it too.
Yes, the Mutou girl looks like Suzuki is teaching them how to perform miracles, and she is always begging to sit on the bench next to her, when she goes to the piano. Like she is casting spells, not playing an instrument.
She may not say it, but Suzuki loves teaching these children. They all have real hidden talents in singing and musical instruments, and she dreams of one day turning them into a little choir. But if these children are gifted, then Youko is a prodigy.
Suzuki is grateful for these wonderful children. They taught her little boy to love and appreciate music, and to spend time with her more. They've given him friends and an older sister figure which make him so happy. He's calmed down and learning so much. (She was worried for quite some time if he was going to turn out a bully, after he fell in with that Sung-min kid, but she's happy that he was steered away from that course).
And not only did her son gain wonderful friends and influences, so did she and Todd.
She remembers the hours after first meeting the Bakura's, when Todd had been freaking out over meeting the professor Solomon Mutou and budding expert Osamu Bakura. He had been unable to calm down, though it would soon pass as he built a steady friendship with the two.
She remembers her own feelings of meeting fellow mothers who she could talk to. Women who gave and asked for advice. She hadn't many friends, being busy with work and her family as well as being naturally introverted, and it was challenging to connect to people. Becoming friends with Anzu, Marie, and Yume were a godsend. She finds herself doing something in her spare time, other than practicing and keeping her home neat, and she enjoys their regular outings both with or without the children.
In her thirties and she almost feels like a teenager again.
It's wonderful. She had liked her life before, but having such good friends has really added some spark to things.
She is, however, grateful that Tristan is not begging her for a younger sibling of his own after news of Yume, Marie and Mrs. Wheeler's pregnancies reached her household. Her boy is content with being a big brother to his best friends' siblings. (He hasn't always been the best at sharing his parents attention with others at times, so a sibling would be too much.)
She has taken it upon herself to educate the children about health, as well, not just the arts. She grew up in a family of doctors and nurses, so she knows a lot, simply by association. (She tries to keep it simple, but when the question of "where do babies come from" eventually is asked, she has prepared a child-friendly lecture, because she would rather play on un-tuned instruments for the rest of her life before teaching any child in her care misinformation).
She also makes sure that Joey gets the proper nutrition and care that he needs. Sure, he's never dirty or malnourished, but… alarms go off in her mind whenever she looks at him or sees his mother.
How a bitter, mistreated woman like Sally Wheeler gave birth to such a sweet child, she will never understand. But Suzuki, along with the other Mom 4 (Anzu had come up with the name as a joke, but it has stuck with them), are going to make sure that he remains that same good kid.
They are all wonderful children. And she is grateful, and will always be grateful for them and their families for coming into her life and breaking up the order she so loves. For bringing a little chaos and balancing her out.
Now… if only she can get them interested in a different instrument each, then they'll be the perfect little band in no time.
She has always been a skittish woman, has always had her nervous and anxious tendencies. Nothing new about it, it's just the way she is. Especially compared to her twin sister, Shizukana, who is all hot-tempered and commanding.
Despite all that, becoming a mother has, by far, been the most stressful thing Yume has ever had to go through in her twenty-something years of life.
Oh, she adores motherhood. Loves staying at home and watching over everything. But it is a bigger hassle than she thought it might be.
But such is the life as the mother of Mutou Youko, she guesses. She truly loves her little girl. Her daughter is a brilliant girl, a prodigy. But sometimes she's too much.
It's a battle to keep Youko entertained and out of trouble. To answer all of her questions and treat her like an adult rather than the three year old she is. Where she even got that high level of intelligence from, she has no idea. She, herself, was never really all that outstanding in anything except maybe cooking and sewing. Housewife type of work.
Her daughter sometimes reminds her of her twin, Youko is very different of course, but they do both have that same passionate fiery temper and a knack for jumping into things head first.
She misses her sister. It has been years since they last spoke or anything. The last she had heard was that her older sister had given birth to a boy, her nephew. And the last she had told her sister was that she had been pregnant with a baby.
She's never even seen a picture of her nephew. And her sister never reacted to the news of her baby niece or nephew.
She should try to get in touch with her sister and her family. It had been too long, and family should always stay together.
Even if her brother-in-law's family is… difficult, if not completely awful. They had yet to approve of Kana last time they spoke. (She hopes they have come around by this time, though she finds it very unlikely.)
But Youko deserves to know her cousin and aunt and uncle. And Yume truly misses her big sister. They'd always supported each other through childhood, thick as thieves, best friends forever.
It was only thanks to her brother-in-law and his family that her Onee-chan even stopped contacting her in the first place. (Though on her part, she should have never stopped sending letters and trying to call. Maybe she should start again. And pull out her photos and share them with Youko, now that she's going to be a Nee-chan, too).
She's not lonely. Never. Solomon is a good companion and kind to all of the children who pass through their life. He's a brilliant companion to discuss things with and she is grateful to have him around and so involved in their lives.
Now, if only she could say the same about her husband.
Yume loves Yakumo. He's a good and hard-working man who does his best to help put food on the table. But sometimes… sometimes she wishes he'd work a little less hard.
He's almost a stranger to Youko. He's rarely home, Yume feels more married to her father-in-law than to her actual husband. And as horrible as it is to acknowledge… he's a better father to Youko, too.
Solomon takes Youko and her friends to the park and knows which stories she likes the best at bedtime. Yakumo thinks she likes frilly, pink dresses like "every little girl" and that she can't even read yet when she's more than capable of it. And those are just the most recent examples.
She loves her husband. She really does.
But sometimes… he makes it so difficult for her.
And even though she knows why, it still breaks her heart to watch Youko ignore Yakumo, treat him like a stray animal that comes and goes as it pleases.
She even asked Youko once about Yakumo and her answer, while cold, made sense:
"He's not my father, mama. I don't know that man and frankly, I don't need him. I have Jiji, he's more than enough of a father to me. I care for Yak-father as a family member, but how can I love someone I don't know?"
Her daughter, the three-year old "philosopher" and budding prodigy. Her enigma of a child, her little sunshine with shimmering eyes, who screamed until her vocal-cords frayed. Yume has spent many a night looking at her while she slept, feeling both intense love and sadness and worry.
At least she's not alone in her worries. Not since meeting Marie, and then Anzu and Suzuki.
It's a relief to know that all children have their quirks and things they do that worry their parents.
Anzu is a gem and a breath of fresh air, always bringing flowers and houseplants to brighten up her home. (Youko seems to take a shine to them all, deciding to name the plants that last. She's even demanded that everyone have one plant that's theirs and they name.) Her husband, Adam, is jovial and relaxed with a little pot-belly her aunts would have raged against, but which Anzu just sees as part of his charm. Yume admires that about their relationship - this easy acceptance and good-natured banter she has seen them engage in. (And he's a lawyer, as well. His entire demeanor and personality feels like it's an odd match, yet it also fits him well).
Marie is Marie. Her best friend, even if she can be a bit overbearing and infuriating at times. She recognizes the stubbornness in her, because it was also in her Shizukana, only it's much stronger in the Bakura matriarch. Still, the experience has taught her how to handle such a person, and she is one of the few people who can talk Marie away from an idea… when she's not accidentally encouraging it. (Like this pregnancy. Yume has a sneaking suspicion that Osamu isn't quite as thrilled about it as he acts).
Osamu… he is strange to her. He speaks often of the advantages of their modern world, of all of the benefits they have compared to the olden times. But just as often she sees him engage in the same rituals and motions she has heard him write off as silly superstitions and wastes of time. He contradicts himself almost all the time, and she's not sure he's aware of it.
Suzuki Taylor reminds her of her mother… strict but loving (and she adores her so much secretly. To watch Youko flourish and glow with joy when she sings and plays instruments makes her heart weep with her own joy. She can't wait to see how far her daughter will go with her musical talents.)
And Todd Taylor. He's a good man, a man who knows how to listen. Yume assumes you have to be to be a psychologist. He is always willing to listen to her about her worries and knows how to reassure her. (He has even offered to talk with Youko - test her to see if there's a diagnose that can explain her daughter's oddities, if it would make her feel better. Yume has declined several times, wanting to wait until Youko is older to see if it's something she would like to happen, though she has a feeling she won't).
(She knows that Todd would have made the same offer to Marie about Hinata and herself, but he knows that Marie's reaction would not be a pleasant one.)
Youko and Hinata. Hinata and Youko. Their odd, sweet, little girls. They are like sisters, and Yume knows that should anything happen to Marie and Osamu, she would gladly take in the girl. Amane too, of course, and the new little one that's on the way. (And she's grateful that Amane is around. She seems to be the best one to get the girls to listen to.)
They'd be one big, happy family. She dreams of it, sometimes. All of them, living in one house, helping each other out and doing what they can to keep everything in order. Shizukana and her child, too.
.
.
.
She hopes she'll get to experience it one day… more than anything in her life.
Before it's too late.
Marie knows what she wants. She's always known what she wants, when she wants it and she's going to get it, no matter what.
It's gotten her her husband, her children and a wonderful house close to her best friend, just to name her most recent achievements.
So why, she often wonders, is it that her life feels so… empty? Like she's lacking something vital that she does not yet know how to get? She almost feels like a woman in a book she once read… a powerful woman who was given everything she wanted, yet still acted so indifferent to everything (even children were stolen in an attempt to make her say thank you, but with no results*).
But no children have been stolen and Marie is more than capable of thanking people. She should be happy, she is happy… but not happy. Somehow, it feels like there's a difference to her. Even when she's filled with joy at the third life growing inside of her, it doesn't feel quite as genuine as when she was pregnant with Amane and Hinata.
She wonders why. She has everything she could possibly ever want. What is she missing?
She has a wonderful home, a loving husband and two (soon to be three) perfect children, who are friends with (more or less) good children from pleasant families. She is friends with three out of four of those families, and she spends her time doing what she didn't know she wanted to do, but now cannot see herself being anything but: a mother and a housewife.
Yup. She's never wanted anything more in her life. It's not like she wanted to be a professor in linguistics or anything. Not at all. Once upon a time, maybe, but now? Motherhood is the way to go! The Marie in the past would've fought tooth and nail to get that Ph.D., but then Osamu Bakura came along and oh boy. She'd decided right then and there that she wanted that man.
No matter the price she had to pay.
So she's had to give up on a few things. Sacrifices have to be made for the greater good. Osamu had stayed with her in London until his studies were finished - he went against his original plan. A sacrifice. In return, she went to Kyoto with him when he found job at the university there. A sacrifice. She gave up her job at Gressenheller, her old dream, and went with him like the dutiful wife she was. Like the dutiful wife she is.
They've both made sacrifices to get their happiness.
That's why she doesn't understand why Osamu can't be a little more enthusiastic about their lives.
They have a house, good friends, wonderful daughters, and a third child on the way. They're all happy, healthy, normal, and smart. Nothing is wrong with any of them, and they all do so much. No matter what that deranged, wicked woman that is Sally Wheeler says. (How dare she insinuate that her Hinata doesn't love her. Marie knows Hinata adores her. Her and Osamu both. She has to. They're her parents - all children have to love their parents).
Nevermind that her own relationship with her mother is a little… unorthodox. So they haven't spoken since she ran away from home to stay with Osamu. That was different. Her mother never approved of anything she did, never accepted her for who she was. Marie loves and accepts Hinata just as she is, quirks and all. That is, she would, if Hinata had any oddities to begin with. She doesn't. Her baby is perfect. She was just a little sick as an infant, and she is very delicate now. Nothing unusual about that.
Not. At. All.
So really, Osamu has nothing to be so quiet and sullen about. Their life couldn't be more wonderful and rosy. (Literally, ever since shortly after Hinata was born, it's like she's been walking around in a soft-pink mist - her vision is covered with it, no matter what she does. She hasn't told anybody - they'd tell her to see a doctor, but she's sure she's fine. Perfect, even).
Not to mention that their new friends are good families. Anzu and Suzuki both run their own businesses, and the former is married to a lawyer and the latter to a psychologist. Sure, Yakumo is just an ordinary businessman, but Solomon used to be a professor of archaeology, just like her Osamu, so that doesn't matter. Not all that much, anyways. (It's not at all important to her that, out of all of them, Yakumo is the only one without a university degree. Her darling friend Yume does not count, because at least she tried going into culinary arts, but quit after meeting Yakumo. Doesn't count at all. Yume is a good person who sacrificed her dreams to be a good wife and mother, just like she did).
Maybe she should be a little resentful towards Suzuki and Anzu as well. They work. They're not acting according to the unwritten code of motherhood she's sworn to follow. Yet they still stay at home and take care of their children. They've somehow found a middle-way.
Marie doesn't really know what to feel about that.
At least they're not like that Sally Wheeler and her so-called husband. Abandoning her child. Working all day (if that's actually what she's doing - Marie is willing to bet that the majority of her days are spent at a sleazy bar) when she could stay home and take care of her… she doesn't even know if they live in a proper house or an apartment… while her poor husband works himself half to death. They've never even met the poor man, he must be so worn down from all the work.
Much like her own father was. He was a sad, tired man with a temper. So she received a slap now and then, even if she hadn't been disobedient. So what? He loved her, like all parents should. (He had to have loved her, he had to, Marie knows it deep within her heart).
Marie's life is absolutely perfect, yes sir. Even if there are a few… drawbacks and exceptions to that, but still perfect.
Like her Hinata's little friend. Joey.
Marie supposes he's a good kid. She'd really rather not have him anywhere near her children (and Youko and Tristan and Tea - the kids from good families), but… this is one thing she knows Hinata is more stubborn than her on. And she's backed by Youko and the rest of their friends.
At least he's polite and knows better than some people in his life. He may not always be the cleanest little boy, but he always washes his hands and brings his own slippers in his little backpack. (He has also practically been adopted by both the Taylors and the Mutous, so there's a lot of good influence for him there).
Both Tea and Tristan are sweet little babies. Like her Hinata and Amane, Tea is the picture perfect example of a little princess. All pretty in pastels and prints and little skirts and dresses. Sure, she gets her clothes a little dirty, but that's to be expected from a child who is still learning how to walk straight. Tristan is a little gentleman, and even if he has difficulties with sharing, he still lets his friends play with his toys. Sharing is caring and all that.
Youko Mutou… Ko-chan is not quite as princessy and pink as Marie would have liked or expected. Most of the time she's a rowdy little troublemaker with a thirst for knowledge she shouldn't have. She always carries some sort of game or puzzle (her favorite currently being a rubik's cube) fidgeting with it almost constantly. The little clicks grate on her nerves and hearing. But! If it keeps her from causing major property damage, she's not going to take it from her. Besides, she's Hinata's first friend ever and Amane's first friend in Domino City. That's something she will always be grateful for.
And her little Amane. Clever Amane the, admittedly, easier child to care for. Her little Snow White with her dark eyes, red lips and snowy hair. (So the colours don't quite match, but she's still just as perfect and sweet and obedient. A little fairy tale princess come to life). Marie has no doubts that her little girl is going to go far in life - a great mother, with her caring nature
Yes. Marie's life is perfect. Just wonderful. Couldn't be better.
So she's getting headaches more often. That can be remedied with fresh air and a different diet. And her vision might also be failing a bit, but… well, eyes change. Vision can deteriorate. It is normal. Nothing is wrong. They are all happy and healthy and there is nothing wrong with any of them.
Least of all her.
Osamu regrets everything he's ever done and said in his life.
E. Ve. Ry. Thing.
Well, everything in his married life anyways. Starting with getting engaged to Marie Briar.
He remembers his early days of their relationship fondly. He'd been a clumsy, little foreigner, his first trip outside of Japan. Going to Kyoto University to Gressenheller University in London had been quite the culture shock, and he'd found himself feeling… empty. Lonely.
Just another exchange student, just another foreigner with little social skills and no true ability at making friends outside of study-groups and the lecture halls. His life had consisted of studying, going to lectures, taking care of his basic needs and repeating. Day after day.
But then… then he'd met Marie.
The woman was a spitfire and he'd found it incredibly attractive back then. Her hair the purest white, always unruly and always moving.
He'd been smitten with her since that first glance as she spoke at some public event on campus. He'd just been minding his own business, passing through, when he'd seen her standing on a box, her voice carried by the wind.
It had been a bit of a whirlwind romance, he will admit. And maybe they should've done something differently. Well… they should probably have done a lot of things differently.
In the end, after his original year in London was over, he decided to stay and marry Marie. He no longer knows if that was a good or bad idea.
Hindsight is 20/20, as they say. He knows that that could not be more true after 9 or so years of marriage.
Marie Briar was a feisty language major, specializing in all sorts of lost or semi-lost texts and tongues. She was fun and had a lot of crazy ideas, as well as the drive to see them become reality.
Marie Bakura…Marie Bakura is a different case entirely.
After marrying him and becoming a mother, she settled, but that spitfire spirit created wars whenever it came to anything she put her mind to.
Marie Bakura, is a stubborn woman who does what she wants, when she wants, and doesn't bother to ask what others think. She is a woman who does not compromise on anything. It's either her way, or her way. Nothing else.
Her impulsive nature, once endearing and attractive, turned to very frustrating and unbearable.
What he thought was drive to see her ideas through wasn't drive at all, but the belief that she alone knew best without even considering that other people might have better ideas and solutions than her.
Not to mention her sheer disregard for the consequences of her actions or inactions, so long as she got her way…
In short, marrying Marie Brair is nothing like he had thought and hoped it would be.
He's dissatisfied and disappointed. (He's not sure if it's with himself and his choices or with Marie, or both).
He has no doubt that if it wouldn't have made things more complicated, he would have divorced her long ago. But then… then Amane had entered the picture. He would never force a woman to raise a child all by herself with no support, especially his own child. (And he also wouldn't leave the poor child with Marie, who knows what could happen. He knows she would never harm her child, but with her disregard to consequences…..)
(He would've suggested couples' therapy ages ago, if he hadn't known she'd never go along with it, or if he hadn't feared the scandal it would cause).
And things had been okay for the most part. He had hoped motherhood would mellow and mature Marie, and it had to a point. But not by much. In fact, she became even more stubborn and controlling with Amane's birth.
Amane…..Amane helps. He loves his daughter, he truly does. She makes it easier to go through the days. But as much as he loves her, fatherhood is nothing like he had imagined either.
When he'd been young, discipline had been a big part of his life. His father had run a tight ship and there had never been any long-lasting problems. Osamu himself was never hit (though he knows a few of his cousins were), and he thinks himself fortunate for it.
Back then it had been normal - parents and teachers were allowed to hit children. And even if he was never on the receiving end of it, there had always been the knowledge that he could have been, and that kept him in line.
Amane isn't growing up in the same age as he did. Now, beating children is illegal. And he has realized that, without that underlying fear, it is surprisingly difficult to reign in a young child.
Not that Amane is a wild child and gets away with everything, but she is much more outspoken than what is proper and appropriate. She still does many things that she shouldn't and he has no way in reigning her in or disciplining her. Any effort he makes in raising and teaching her are wiped away by Marie.
And then his second daughter was born.
And everything went from hard and challenging to practically unbearable.
Hinata… Hinata is, by far, the strangest child he has ever met in his life. And he's the honorary uncle of Mutou Youko.
He has no idea why she is the way she is. The stubbornness is certainly from Marie, but everything else… he just doesn't understand. Aside from some of her smart remarks, and obvious intentional disobedience, she's a well behaved child. Too well behaved. Too smart. Too knowing.
His first clue to something being wrong should be the months where she just went… quiet. Almost from one hour to the next she went from being an ordinary baby to something else. (His old grandmother, may she rest in peace, would have cried demon and changeling, but he knows better. He's a man of science, a man of reason. He doesn't believe in such silly superstitions, he doesn't! She'd just been sick, that was all. Maybe it had changed her, then - minor damage to her psyche or something like that).
(There are no such things as magic and demons and spirits).
The other clues and hints are from how she acts. Hinata is too perceptive and understanding. She's a child, at her age there is so much they can't understand and process. Yet Hinata does as if she's an adult. And her overall knowledge – there is much she knows and things she talks about that she should have no way of knowing. She has no access to places where she could hear or read or learn about any of the things she knows. (Even her English is more advanced than it should be. Way more advanced.)
Marie remains willfully ignorant to all of this. She has gotten it into her head that there couldn't possibly be anything wrong with any of her children, despite them meeting the Mutou's specifically because they had a similarly odd child. But no - Marie the Mother knows best.
And without a way to discipline his children, Osamu is at his wits end. Hinata shows no respect or love to either of her parents really. She talks back and doesn't obey them and is rude and cold to them. (Even if most of the time she's justified and in the right. She still should obey and respect them both. They're her parents.)
So, if you were to ask him straight up if he likes being a father, the answer is a resounding "NO." Osamu Bakura does not enjoy fatherhood. At all.
(He refuses to blame it on Hinata alone, even if it's tempting. Just because a lot of things in his life started going downhill after her birth, it does not mean she is at the root of it. He is, after all, a man of common sense and science, even if he studies an awful lot of old legends in relation to his ruins and artifacts. He knows that it's a combination of many things.).
And now… now he's going to be a father for a third time. And, as much as the knowledge that another life is going to enter the world because him should thrill him… it doesn't. Far from.
Osamu does not want another child. Thr-Two kids were more than enough for him. (He wants to say three sometimes when people ask how many he has, because Marie is more of a child than a wife most days, recently.)
Osamu loves his wife, (as much as he can) but the one thing he loves the least about her is her stubbornness.
Because while he is, of course, happy to know there's a new addition to the family on the way… he can't say he's pleased about it, either. He really hadn't wanted any more kids. It had all been Marie's wish, and she had refused to budge. (As usual.) They were having another kid- end of discussion.
As it is, there hadn't even been a discussion. She'd just come up to him, out of the blue, and told him: "I'm pregnant!" And there was no doubt that it was his.
She hadn't even thought to include him in the decision because, as she'd told him when asked "why," she knew he'd say no. So she'd just stopped taking her pills and… that was it. (Nevermind that that mindset borderlines rape, he knows. He hadn't consented to unprotected intercourse. But he also hadn't bothered to make sure she was using her pills. He'd just assumed. And he should have known better since she had been asking and talking about a third child for several weeks by then.)
He supposes it's his own fault, in some way. His idea of getting back at Yakumo (which backfired spectacularly) for giving Marie the idea that they move to Domino had been to suggest they give Youko another playmate - let him suffer through a moody, pregnant wife a second time!
But then the wives talked, and Marie got it into her head that she wanted another child. Youko and Hinata had each other, so the new Mutou baby should have a Bakura best friend too.
Not to mention that they had thought it an absolutely wonderful idea to be pregnant together. To go to appointments and preparation together, to shop themselves poor together, to go to yoga for expecting mothers together, etc.
Done is done. Maire had made her decision and he was left in the dust to pick up the bills and face the consequences for the both of them. (Again. Like usual.)
"Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful," he thinks to himself, whenever he looks through their debts.
And to make it worse, Hinata is excited, thrilled, to have a new sibling. He had been hoping she would be against it, like she is many things regarding Marie. Had hoped she would be upset to lose the attention.
But no. She is a ball of sunshine and smiles, asking way too many advanced questions about the baby. Marie loves it, loves bonding with her youngest daughter. She doesn't realize that Hinata shouldn't even know most of these words or terms in the first place. She shouldn't know about the trimesters of pregnancy or the proper ways to stay healthy and happy and comfortable while pregnant.
He doesn't know where she (or Youko, for that matter) get that knowledge from. They've never been taught or told about any of it. Solomon usually gives all parents a little update on their progress at the end of the week, and they've never really covered anything on pregnancy before the three mothers (even if Marie barely acknowledges Sally Wheeler's existence) revealed themselves to have buns in the oven. And they've certainly never gone over something quite as advanced as what Hinata is asking about.
Like he loves his wife, he loves Hinata. But… his daughter… his youngest daughter is creepy. There's no other way to put it.
He prides himself on being a modern man. Someone who knows reason and good, common sense.
But damn it if the old practices of his grandmother, who had been a priestess back in the day, don't also haunt his mind and actions from time to time.
He can hear her now sometimes. Imagine her reactions to his youngest and…..she would believe Hinata to be possessed or a demon. And he knows that it's not right and that there are no such things….
Yuki-Musume. All cold rage and icy glares. Distant and unloving. Little girl, made of snow and frost. (Even her coloring would match the descriptions his grandmother had given him in her stories when he was a child.) Not to mention her birth during an early snowstorm...
But he…..he knows better. Hinata isn't like that. She loves them all. (Even if it's only since the news of the baby that she's opened up and bonded with Marie. Amane has always held a special place in her heart, though).
He can't help but feel excluded from her love though at times. The looks she gives him, the offhand comments, and reactions to things he says…...it's like she is disappointed in him, among other things.
It's like she's expecting something from him. For something to happen.
And then that odd question she'd asked him when he'd tucked her in a few nights prior…
"Father… if something bad happened, what would you do? Would you stay and fight or run away?"
He hadn't known what to answer, but he told her what he thought she'd want to hear: stay and fight.
The sad, understanding look she gave him and her quiet, resigned counter-question chilled his heart, as if an icy hand had reached in and grabbed it.
"Are you sure, Father?"
No more words had been spoken, and she had fallen asleep shortly after.
Yes, his child is odd. Strange. Other. No better way to put it.
He loves her, but…..
She scares him.
Yuki-Musume, hiding amongst mere mortals in plain sight.
No, he thinks firmly and shakes his head. His grandmother was crazy and he is a modern man with common sense. There's no such thing.
.
.
.
"But are you sure about that?" Whispers a voice in the back of his mind.
*Referring to the book "The Glassblower's Children", because Nordic was reminded of it while writing for Marie.
Stars' AN:
Welcome back my duckies to Caught in the Game!
Here we have a filler chapter, so not much happens in terms of progression, you do get to see other povs and gain insight into the other characters heads though.
We really wanted to show depth to the characters, make them more understandable and real. We wanted to really show the reasoning behind actions and how they are, give them a chance to be known and loved, not disliked right away without reason. It can be so easy to write a character and not like them and give no reason to why they do what they do or why they're disliked.
And while Nordic and I have (and will) taken creative license with many things for this fic, a lot of this is still close and actually canon. How some of them act and what they do. (Like Joey's parents)
Joey is an adorable and precious baby, loyal and caring. Sally is a young woman forced to become an adult and parent way too soon. (Sadly she's not going about trying to be a better person or improve anything.) Yume is sweet and kind, but a little disgruntled, (and being a bit too passive on things). Marie is a ball of confusion and contradictions, and there is something very wrong….and Osamu is in denial and be not even trying to fix any of the issues he's got (and so many things could be fixed if he actually tried.)
So you all have learned about the Moms and an early pov from Osamu this chapter. You learn more backstory from several of them. Like Yume having a twin. (Whose name is supposed to mean calm or peaceful. Which was Nordics idea :)), or that Sally and Marie have similar lives growing up in some aspects. And we see that they're not all clueless or anything about the girls being "odd".
Not gonna lie, this chapter was hard to write. It took us a long while to get things down for each person and then write it up. Not sure why, but fillers are challenging it seems, and so are characters who don't "exist" in a way in the series. With nothing to go on for them, it makes it hard.
Shoutout to all of the people who viewed and all of our current followers and faves and our new followers and favorites (Falco peregrinus, Neo gen x, DemonCats, MystereKitsune, God Emperor Terra Bornstellar, and Spiteful Elegance)
And thank you for the one new review Uberch01.
Please, PLEASE leave us comments and reviews, especially if you have any questions or are confused! We love them so much and are more than happy to explain things to you guys. They give us motivation and such happiness. :3
Thanks again to the amazingly talented and lovely Moirei for Beta-ing for us, as always :)
(Also I forgot to mention this last chapter but, yes, the song is "Stressed Out" by Twenty One Pilots. And the "I like your shoelaces" is a tumblr meme.)
Both Nordic and I have Tumblr's (same usernames) so feel free to look us up on there too.
Well that's it for this time, so thanks again for reading my duckies and we'll see you all next time on Caught in the Game!
Counting Sinful Stars
AN: Here we are again! Welcome back, guys, to another chapter of Caught in the Game!
Lots of important stuff happens this chapter, even if it's mostly filler-stuff. We wanted to flesh out the parents a bit more and show some "behind the scenes" kind of stuff. We hope you enjoyed it. This was so difficult to write, you have no idea, but it needed to be written.
See, not all is well in these families. Far from, really. It kind of goes with being important characters in Yu-Gi-Oh: you're not allowed to have a happy backstory. (Seriously, NONE of the important main characters have a happy backstory. The only ones who do are Tea and Tristan, and even then we don't know anything about their home lives! Not really, anyways).
Sally is miserable and caught in a situation she doesn't like, Yume wants a husband who spends more time with his family, Marie is in denial and Osamu is just miserable, period. It's the drama the kids might not catch on to, but it's still very relevant to the plot. We wanted to give you guys a reason for their actions. We didn't want characters who are born to be disliked. We hope we succeeded in doing that.
On a happier note: babies! They're on the way! Hooray! But which babies? Who are they? (Well, we all knew Serenity was coming, in any case).
Next chapter we'll take a look at the fathers' POV and opinions on each other. Well, SPOILERS, aside from Jared. Nobody likes Jared and he's not important to the plot. Barely even in canon.
Big thanks to all of the favorites and follows and that one really nice review!
See you guys next time!
Nordic Twin
Edited/Beta by Moirei
Finished & Published June 24, 2017