"Kai, Mai; can you two come here please?" Ryou and Ichigo called from the living room where they and Ichigo's parents were waiting.
"Yes, what is it?" Kai asked, looking at their parents and grandparents.
"Are we in trouble?" Mai innocently asked, looking at Ryou.
"No, you're not in trouble; we've just got something we want to tell you." Ryou calmly replied.
"What?" Kai and Mai asked, both curious.
"We're going on a family vacation." Ichigo happily told them.
"Yay!" Kai and Mai enthusiastically exclaimed.
Since the night he nearly got possessed, Kai has been more active in family events like:
· Board games
· Movies,
· Vacations
· Whatever Ryou and Ichigo planned
Kai and Mai took their entrance tests to see where they would be academically:
Mai would be in regular kindergarten.
Kai would be in a special class with other kids like him.
"Where are we going?" Sakura asked, looking at Ryou and Ichigo.
"We are going to my family's beach house." Ryou answered.
"That sounds like fun." Sakura replied with a smile.
"We haven't been to a beach in years." Shintaro stated, trying to remember the last time.
"Mommy starts school too, right?" Mai softly asked.
"Yep. This will be my final year." Ichigo answered, proud of herself.
"Will I get to see you in school?" Mai asked, hopeful.
"I'm sorry, Sweetie, but no. I'm in high school; it's an entirely different school." Ichigo answered, looking at the sad, little girl.
"Oh, ok…" Mai sadly mumbled.
"Don't be sad; we'll see each other before and after school." Ichigo informed Mai with a smile.
"Ok." Mai replied, looking up at Ichigo.
"Do you want to learn how to swim?" Ichigo asked, looking at her daughter.
"Yeah!" Mai gladly exclaimed.
"Let's go. You too Kai." Ichigo cheerfully insisted.
"The tub's too small for them to both learn how to swim." Ryou told Ichigo.
"Mom got them one of those inflatable pools. Didn't you know?" Ichigo asked, looking at Ryou.
"No, I didn't." Ryou replied, confused.
"Shintaro was supposed to tell you the day you two were spending time together." Sakura stated, looking at her husband.
"I guess it slipped my mind…" Shintaro mumbled, looking away from his wife.
"Of course…" Sakura sighed, frustrated.
"Ok… Let's get your swimsuits that daddy bought you on." Ichigo insisted.
"Yay!" Mai happily cheered.
"I can get mine on myself, thank you very much." Kai insisted, blushing as he ran to his room, causing everyone to chuckle a little.
"Can you get yours on yourself?" Ichigo asked, looking at Mai.
"No, mommy." Mai answered with a little giggle.
"You are too adorable. Come on; I'll help you." Ichigo happily told Mai, lifting her into her arms before taking her to Mai's room.
"I'm so happy they turned out to be Ichigo's. She's been so happy and active in their lives. She was told she'd never be able to have kids of her own—still, here she is—with twins." Sakura emotionally stated with tears in her eyes.
"I'm not a fan of how they were conceived, but I'm glad they're hers as well." Ryou agreed.
"Thank you, Ryou. Thank you, so, so much." Sakura thanked Ryou with a smile and more tears in her eyes.
"For what?" Ryou asked, confused.
"Letting us be a part of their lives. Even if they weren't Ichigo's, you let us in. So, thank you." Sakura explained.
"It's not a problem. Thank you for letting me date your daughter." Ryou replied and then thanked.
"What if you and Ichigo weren't a couple?" Shintaro asked just as Ichigo, and the twins walked out.
"Why don't you two wait in Mai's room for a little bit?" Ichigo suggested, gently pushing Kai and Mai into Mai's room, shutting the door behind them.
"What's going on?" Ichigo asked, slightly confused, walking back out.
"Your mother was thanking Ryou for allowing us to be part of Kai's and Mai's life. I was just asking Ryou what if you two weren't together. So, if you two weren't together, would you still let us be part of their lives? I mean, you have one hundred percent custody." Shintaro answered, asked, and stated, watching Ryou.
"Of course, I'd let you all be part of their lives; they're her kids too. And even if they weren't her kids—before we officially started dating; she was going to be their babysitter. But they are her kids, so she should be able to see them. I don't know how, but we'd figure something out. Whether she gets them every weekend, or three and a half days out of the week—or whatever; we'd figure something out. I want what's best for them. I'd never take them away from their mother—well, except for in Maya's case; she wasn't a great mother from what I understand." Ryou answered, looking directly at Shintaro.
"I like this kid." Shintaro stated.
"Can we come out now?" Mai asked, standing on the other side of her door.
"Yeah. Sorry; we had to have an adult discussion." Ichigo replied, letting Kai and Mai out.
Kai was wearing a pair of green swim trunks with dinosaurs on them.
Mai was wearing a pink and purple tie-dye two-piece swimsuit that covered everything but a little bit of her stomach.
"Is everything ok?" Kai asked, looking at everyone.
"Everything's just fine. It's just fine." Ryou answered, watching the twins.
"Can we learn to swim now?" Mai asked, looking at Ryou, completely unphased and ignoring everything else.
"Yeah, let's go." Ryou replied with a smile as Mai quickly waddled her way to the back door.
Ichigo and Sakura stuck the eager children in the pool and let them go.
At first, they both just sat in the pool, splashing around, but in the end, Mai quickly learned how to swim. Kai, on the other hand, it took a while.
"Yay! I learn something before Kai!" Mai happily exclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah… I'm sure there are other things out there you'll be able to do first." Kai mumbled, embarrassed, looking away. He would typically become flustered if Mai knew or learned something first; he was the smart twin after all. However, she looked so happy that Kai couldn't take that away from her.
"Yay!" Mai happily exclaimed, going to hug Kai, only to not only knock him over in the pool, but also falling over herself. This only caused the adults to laugh—after making sure they were both ok…
