Hey everyone!
While it's still going to be a while before the main story gets updated? I recently got word that one of my cousins just got engaged! Since that's been on my mind for a while now, and how familiar it is to something mentioned in the main story, plus the fact I don't have any good set ups to show this one scene... I decided to make a prequel story based off the scene in question!
As a fair warning, this story contains spoilers for an important scene in Chapter 10, and major revelations in Chapters 14 and 15, so make sure to read them first since this story's turned all spoilers off.
I'll let the chapter itself do all the talking from here on out, so without further ado? Let's get this prequel started!
[Chapter 1 - The Proposal]
As he stared at the walls of his kitchen, Gorou felt beads of sweat trickling down his face.
The thought of what he was about to do making his brain feel like it was in knots and his stomach feel like it was doing backflips. He twiddled his thumbs one last time as he glanced towards the clock one last time, noting the sweat on them.
'Calm down mister, you can do this. Heck, you've done it once before, so you should be able to do this no problem... right?' He told himself, feeling the sweat on his face.
Silence followed.
Then he screamed.
"Who the hell am I kidding!? This is nothing like back then! After all, I have kids this time and she's been their nanny since we first met! Am I being too optimistic about this? Oh god, maybe I should have practiced with mom and dad before I-" He panicked.
"Good morning~!" A feminine voice sang.
He briefly yelped, rubbing his hands over his face and shirt to wipe off the sweat, and making the source of the voice blink before giving a confused look at Gorou's unusual reaction.
Turning around, Gorou saw the owner of the voice, Rizevia, walk into the kitchen. She looked just as youthful and beautiful as she always did, and that didn't help him feel any calmer for what he was about to do.
"Is something wrong, or did I come at a bad time?" She inquired, noticing he looked a little disheveled.
"N-No! You just surprised me!" He responded quickly, his hands swinging around as he held them out.
Rizevia blinked at his strange show, but only gave a shrug in response, deciding that she had no right to comment about how a Human acted. Gorou and his kids had seen a few of her Devil quirks slip out on occasion, after all.
"Well, why did you invite me so early? Did Aiko and Yuuki catch another cold?" Rizevia asked.
"Actually... this about me." Gorou replied, clearing his throat slightly.
"You want me to be your nanny too?" Rizevia joked with a tiny smirk.
She expected something like a flustered reply from him, but Gorou stayed silent, which she was quick to notice as he straightened his collar.
"Gorou, are you sure something isn't wrong?" She asked.
He replied with nothing more than a deep breath, then looked at her with the most serious expression she had even witnessed from the man she had only known for a year at this point.
"Alicia, when we first met... I was in a bad place. Losing Miki so suddenly was like losing a piece of myself. Had you not come into my life when you did, I don't know what would have happened to me, much less my children. Today is a day where I mean those words more than anything else, since it was a year ago from today when Miki said she loved me with her final breath." Gorou replied.
Rizevia let out a gasp, then looked at her memorial.
"Oh, I see... so, you wanted me to be here since you weren't sure how you would react during the anniversary of her passing." She assumed, noting his unusual tone and his prior actions.
"Actually, no."
Hearing that made Rizevia blink, then looked at him in surprise.
"No? Then why else would you-"
"Because Miki would..." He began.
Gorou stopped momentarily to take a deep breath, and closed his eyes as he felt his momentum going, now confident he would see what he started through to the end.
"Because I know Miki would want me to be happy. She would want me to move on, to find love again and be happy despite she isn't here anymore. Our time may have been short, but she blessed me with so much, including my children, who need me to be strong and I'm certain share that wish." He continued.
He moved one arm near his chest, clenching it into a fist while slipping his other into his pocket. Rizevia was so focused on his face and words that she didn't notice what said hand was now holding.
"And that's why... despite how short it's been since we met? I have no doubts what my heart is telling me, because you've become part of this family, so I hope that you will allow me to make it official." Gorou finished.
He knelt to the ground on one leg. Rizevia didn't get what he was doing when she saw this, but the moment he pulled out a black box and opened it, her eyes widened and as a gasp escaped her mouth. All his words up to now finally clicking in her mind.
"Alicia Kurogane, will you marry me?"
Rizevia felt the shock leave her speechless for a moment, and Gorou stared at her, letting out a slight gulp at the possibility of her saying no. Once the shock settled, she gave a smile as tears formed in her eyes.
"Yes, I'd love to."
Gorou smiled at her answer, and put the ring on her finger as she held it out. Lifting it to her face, Rizevia's free hand wiped her tears away.
"To think that all this time, you had actually... I feel so blessed." Rizevia smiled, feeling as if she was floating on air.
She had felt close to Gorou's children since she had become their nanny, as if she had actually been their mother. Though, it only struck her after hearing his proposal that the feeling had come from falling for this wonderful man.
After centuries of feeling lost and confused, she had finally found her place in the world.
"Alicia..." Gorou said, tearing up slightly himself.
The two moved to share a kiss, but before they could?
"HOORAY!"
Both of them pulled away, looking at the doorway with blushes on their faces as Gorou's parents rushed into the room.
"Congratulations!" Shiori praised.
"See, son? I told you she'd say yes!" Juzo exclaimed with a wide smile.
"Wait a minute, were two you watching us the whole time?" He realized.
"The three of us, actually."
Rizevia felt her body go rigid as she slowly turned her head, with Gorou soon moving to see Lilith leaned against the doorway's frame. It didn't take long before he realized she had been watching as well.
"M-Mom!?" Rizevia stuttered, her face paling at her presence.
"Congrats, now you better take extra good care of my baby."
Rizevia just covered her face.
"Why mom, why!?" She asked.
"I will, that's a promise! I'll make sure to make her the happiest she's ever been in her life!" Gorou swore while hitting his fist on his chest.
Hearing that made Rizevia blush in surprise, and then she smiled.
"And I as well, both as your wife and as a step-mother." She promised.
Lilith smiled at their words.
'I have grandkids now!' She screamed in her mind, awakening her inner grandmother from the thought.
"Hey mom?"
Upon hearing her daughter's tone, Lilith snapped herself back into reality, and saw the slight anxiety on Rizevia's face.
"With your permission, I would... like to tell Gorou about our family." Rizevia asked, making her own big proclamation.
Those words made Lilith's eyes widen.
She gave a look that gave off a 'Are you sure?' look, and Rizevia instantly nodded.
"Alright, if he's truly serious about marrying you, then he should know." She agreed.
Gorou blinked at those words.
"Juzo, Shiori, let's give these two some room. This is something I can only allow your son to know. For now, at least." Lilith requested.
"Alright, we know when not to pick our noses into things." Juzo agreed.
The two walked out of the kitchen with Lilith, as Rizevia turned to Gorou.
"This isn't a yakuza story, is it?" Gorou asked.
Rizevia shook her head, and took a deep breath.
"Listen close Gorou, because what I'm about to tell you... I don't know if you'll believe it, but I don't want to keep this a secret from you. Even if Aiko and Yuuki aren't ready to hear it yet." She replied.
And with those words, Gorou learned about who his wife truly was.
A truth that changed nothing about how he felt for her afterwards.
Hours later, Juzo went to school to pick up Aiko and Yuuki, surprising the two. Close to the end of the drive home, they finally spoke up.
"Grandpa, why didn't dad or Alicia come to pick us up today?" Yuuki asked.
"Sorry, but your dad asked me not to spoil the big surprise." He grinned.
That reply caught their attention.
"Dad has a surprise for us?" Aiko said in disbelief, knowing what today was.
Juzo just gave a playful chuckle.
Soon, he stopped at their house, and turned to face his grandkids.
"Why not ask him yourselves?" Juzo teased with his eyes closed.
Both of them blinked in response.
The three all walked into the house together, where they saw their dad, their grandma, Rizevia, and Lilith all sitting in the living room together.
"Hey dad." They greeted.
"Ah, welcome home you two." Rizevia greeted, giving them a wave.
"Dad, is Grandpa telling us the truth about a surprise?" Aiko asked.
"He was." Gorou smiled.
It was then he noticed Aiko had her hands closed together as if she was protecting something inside of it.
"Aiko, what's that you've got there?" He inquired.
"Oh, I found this pretty flower today." She replied.
She opened her hands to reveal a large pink flower that had a sparkle to it, and Gorou gasped at the sight, with their grandparents giving similar reactions to seeing it.
"Wait, isn't that..." Rizevia realized.
She remembered some of the pictures she had seen of Gorou and Miki, with that very flower being worn in the latter's hair in all of them.
"I don't believe it... it's the same flower your mother always wore." Gorou said, feeling his eyes fill with happy tears.
"We were surprised too. Before now, we could never find another, so we wanted to bring it home to help you feel less sad about today." Yuuki explained.
Gorou wiped his tears away.
"This was no coincidence. It has to be a message from your mother." He smiled.
"Mom sent it to us? But she's... we had to have just been lucky, right?" Aiko asked.
Gorou shook his head.
"Even if she isn't with us physically, her love never left. It's kept watch over us all this time. All this time she's been wanting to make sure we would be OK without her, and now she knows we'll be OK, and told us in the best way possible." He said as the tears quickly fell from his eyes.
"And now that I know Miki's given me her blessing, I'm confident in the path we'll soon be walking together." Rizevia smiled, looking at him.
He nodded, right as Rizevia knelt before Aiko and Yuuki.
"Aiko... Yuuki, I want the two of you to listen carefully, because the surprise your dad's talking about? It will last way past today." She requested.
They both nodded, even though they still didn't understand what was going on yet.
"No one can ever replace your mother, and I regret that I never got to meet such an amazing woman. Though she would want your father to be happy even without her. So, with your blessing, would you both give me the great honor... of marrying your father?" Rizevia requested.
Both of them gasped at that.
"Marry our... wait, does that mean-" Yuuki realized, looking at his father.
He nodded his head, and Yuuki soon ran forward to hug Rizevia's left side.
"Of course you do!" Yuuki cried.
"Me too!" Aiko cried, running forward to huge Rizevia's right side.
Rizevia teared up as they smiled, and hugged them closer to her.
"Thank you... both of you." She smiled.
Juzo, Shiori, and Lilith all began to tear up as they saw the sight, while Gorou knelt by his kids and fiancé.
"I have no idea what our future will hold, but I know all of us will face it together." He smiled.
"Yeah." Rizevia agreed, looking at him.
Lilith pulled out a tissue and blew in it.
"Well, the first thing that future holds should be obvious. We've gotta plan your wedding!" She stated.
She placed her hands on Aiko and Yuuki's heads, making them turn to face her.
"So, why don't you help your new grandma plan things on your new mom's side?" Lilith suggested.
"You're her mom?" Yuuki remarked in surprise.
"I thought you were her older sister!" Aiko admitted in shock.
"Oh, stop it you two!" Lilith blushed.
Everyone began laughing in response.
Aww!
With how Daydreamer Dragon is normally unafraid to dive into sadder ideas than my other stories, it's a nice chance of pace to show something that's solely positive and happy. It was also a refreshing change to write a shorter chapter, as it helps to really highlight this was all about Gorou's proposal and how Yuuki and Aiko accepted their new stepmom.
Though this isn't everything I have to offer. Before I officially end this prequel, we still have one more chapter that shows another important event I'd like to show. What will that scene be? Well, you'll find out fairly soon.
Until next time everyone, and stay awesome! ^^