Standard disclaimers apply.
A/N: Thank you for being with me throughout all 12 chapters of this story! I really appreciate and love you all for being so supportive and helpful. Now, before we say goodbye to this story, let's take a peek into Sanosuke and Megumi's lives together 5 years after the night at Tokyo Tower! The epilogue will be told from Megumi's POV!
Epilogue
"Keisuke! What did I say about jumping in the car?" I burst out, trying to shut out the noise coming from the two four-year olds in the backseat and the 25 year-old driving beside me. "Stop it at once!"
My outburst had an effect; there was actually peace and silence for half a minute before my husband broke the silence.
"You're doomed…You've offended Her Majesty." Sanosuke said in a low, booming voice, eliciting screams and laughter from the twins and also himself. I do not see what was so funny about that, but they did not seem to have any intention of stopping. Saeko even laughed so hard till she almost choked on her popcorn.
Great. Laugh all you want.
Honestly, you would think that I am a single mother with three children at times.
"Mr. Sagara," I started in the tone that meant business. "It is precisely because you always make jokes out of the way I discipline the children, and condone their poor behavior, that they are now getting out of hand."
"Mrs. Sagara…if you don't let them enjoy their childhood, it will be too late when they grow up into angsty, rude, idiotic brats." He winked playfully at me from the driver's seat, before turning his attention back to the road ahead.
"Sano-"
"Otousan, what's idiotic?" Keisuke asked, leaning forward from the backseat.
"Sagara Sanosuke!" I screamed angrily. "Haven't we talked about the language issue?"
Hrrrmph. The situation is getting out of control, the direct opposite of what I wish it would be. If I didn't act like a dominatrix with a toothache, I would soon have three potty-mouthed creatures swaggering around in my home. A 1.79m one leading two 1m tall ones.
"Oh. Right. Keisuke, you heard your Okaasan! Sit down and behave yourself."
"You are SO thoughtful, Sanosuke." I muttered irritably, going back to the novel I was reading.
"I try, darling, I try." He replied with a smug smile.
That worked, to my surprise. Keisuke quieted down and returned to playing with his Pokemon plushies, while Saeko busied herself with the task of playing doctor to her perpetually-ill toy rabbit Momo, occasionally trying to feed it popcorn from the tub she was eating. That was one of the ways in which she resembles me the most, as Sanosuke had pointed out.
Saeko's features are closer to mine, whereas Keisuke resembled Sanosuke more, with those sharp features that would one day grow to look as chiseled as his father's. Both of them inherited my eyes as well, and also (very unfortunately, and much as I do not wish to admit,) my stubbornness. They are also very curious too, just like I was when I was young, according to my grandfather. This is true to some extent; Keisuke never gives up asking a question until he gets a satisfactory answer. There was this particularly funny incident where he spent 3 hours clinging onto Sanosuke's leg just to find out how exactly the Gatsby hair wax he uses works.
Both twins share my hair type, which is more of soft and fine, so Saeko wears her long black hair in the same style as I do. Sanosuke, on the other hand, had given up on trying making Keisuke's hair as spiky as his, for it is definitely not as thick. That's perhaps where the resemblance ends. Other than some physical attributes here and there, the twins are basically carbon copies of their father when it comes to their characters.
I am a person who appreciates peace, and a cup of hot tea, coupled with a good book, beats everything else in my definition of recreation and relaxation.
I happen to live with three people who hold the exact opposite definition of mine. The children tire me out, but their father tires me out more, be it day or night. I am not exactly complaining about the night part though…
As you can see, life for me now is really busy, but nonetheless blissful. What more can a girl ask for? I have a loving husband who worked hard to prove his worth to me (he actually bought a car!) and two very adorable children, even though they have recently found interest in jumping off the top bunk of their bunk bed to land on their father when he walks past them. Saeko is usually more obedient, but with her older twin leading, a few minutes are all she needs to morph into a half of the "terror duo".
The rare moment of peace in the Sagara Toyota (as Sanosuke has named the car affectionately) went by just too quickly, when Saeko wailed out loud that Momo complained that it is having a very bad stomachache.
I didn't know stuffed rabbits could complain.
"Okaasan! Momo is in pain…" She wailed, her childish voice tinged with anxiety as she pressed the stethoscope rapidly on all parts of the stuffed toy. I can't help smiling at that; it was really sweet and caring of my little daughter. Turning back to give her a sympathetic smile, I recalled the most basic thing to do when dealing with stomachaches.
"Press lightly on Momo's tummy," I said, watching as Saeko gingerly pressed her fingers to the stuffed rabbit's abdominal area. "Does it hurt there?"
Putting her ear close to the rabbit's cross-stitched mouth, Saeko nodded for a moment before raising her head and nodding anxiously. So…Momo's still in excruciating pain, from what I deduce. Before I can even say a word, I was once again interrupted by my very helpful husband.
Grinning at his daughter from the rearview mirror, Sanosuke said enthusiastically, "Sae-chan! Maybe Momo is pregnant and…"
I realized to my absolute horror at where the statement was going, and without further ado, I reached over to grab his arm and shake my head to tell him to shut up-
"…will be having babies! Little Momos!"
Oh no. Oh no. Tell me I didn't hear that. Please.
Saeko looked up at Sanosuke with her pretty eyes wide open in surprise, her little hand clutching Momo's long, floppy ears.
"Otousan, where do babies come from?" Keisuke asked, putting down his Pokemon to lean forward so that his chin was resting on Sanosuke's seat.
The silence that reigned after Keisuke's question was almost suffocating.
Darn. I knew that was coming.
Pressing the base of my palm on my forehead in exasperation, I mustered all the evilness within me and threw Sanosuke a death glare, making sure to add in the there's-no-way-I-am-answering-that-question look. My death glare was not really needed, for he already looked like he was punching himself to a pulp mentally. As you can see, we both know how curious our son can get. Too curious.
"Where?" Keisuke asked again, peering at Sanosuke's face expectantly, when he got no response.
That stupid, stupid rooster. There's no way I can ever understand how he manages to do such stupid things on a regular basis, despite having been Mrs. Sagara for the past 5 years.
"Otousan?" Keisuke said, shaking Sanosuke lightly by the shoulder. When he got nervous laughter in response, he turned to me with a bewildered look. "Okaasan?"
Don't look at me. I know people might think that just because I know the facts, I can explain them in no time to Keisuke. But they are so wrong. I can gladly write a three page essay anytime on coitus, but explaining the act of procreation to your own 4 year-old son? I can't. No way at all. Can you imagine how embarrassing and traumatizing it will be, when I tell him about what his Otousan and I do when we lock the bedroom door? There's no way I'll say it. No way.
"Look at that! Do you see that enormous eagle in the sky?" Sanosuke pointed out in a mock excitement, pretending to look out of the window at some imaginary eagle, in a desperate bid to distract Keisuke.
No such luck. Nice try, Sanosuke.
"I want to know, Otousan…" Keisuke asked yet again, not at all disheartened by the lack of response. By now, Saeko has forgotten about Momo and the stomachache, leaning forward as well to hear what Sanosuke has to say. "Okaasan, can you tell me?"
Honestly, as much as we hope Keisuke will give up asking, another voice in my head is chanting for me to face the fact that he will not.
I said the very first thing that came to my mind, keeping my fingers crossed that it would be a good enough answer for a 4 year-old…
"The stork." I said.
"The rubbish bin." Sanosuke said, at the same time, before turning to look at me, gulping nervously.
If looks could kill, Sanosuke would have turned into a bucket of piping hot Kentucky Fried Chicken on the spot.
"Is it the stork? Or it is the rubbish bin?" Saeko asked, her darling Momo lying on the seat, forgotten.
"The rubbish bin." I sighed.
"The stork." He replied at the same time as I did.
That…that…STUPID, STUPID IDIOT!
I am going to have a fit.
I could just sense Saeko and Keisuke's faces contort with childish curiosity as they started pressing for answers, their voices getting louder by the second. My silly husband, on the other hand, was just alternating between looking at the road ahead and throwing me looks of pleas.
There's no way I am going to help him out in this one. Pursing my lips, I turn to look out of the window, feigning interest in the bushes along the highway. We have passed by approximately fifty bushes when Sanosuke spoke up.
"OK…listen to me," He started in that I-am-educating-you tone. "You see, you didn't come from the stork…or the rubbish dump, for that matter. You…You…"
"Where?" Keisuke asked, always the more impatient of the two children.
"You see…ummm…Otousan has these little tadpoles…so they swim, and swim for a long time-"
"For a long time? Okaasan told me before that tadpoles turned into frogs…Otousan, did your tadpoles become frogs?"
I could feel my mouth curling up into a huge grin as I tried to hold my laughter in, sneaking glances at my poor, long-suffering husband, who was by now, spluttering and turning red in the face. Frogs…gosh, sometimes, I think my son is too smart for his own good.
"No…no Keisuke…they didn't turn into frogs…" Sanosuke choked out, torn between amusement and horror. "Then these little tadpoles…umm…swim and swim and…get to Okaasan's…umm…"
"Otousan…Do you really know the answer?" Saeko asked, her little features set in a frown as she listened to her father's inadequate explanation.
"Ahh…Sae-chan's right…ask your Okaasan!" Sanosuke quickly added, glad to be relieved of the task of educating the children on where they came from. Or more specifically, how they were created. "She knows more!"
Wait a minute. Did he just tell Saeko to ask me?
Sanosuke…you just WAIT till I get you alone.
I took a deep breath, and instilled as much confidence as I could into my voice. If this method isn't going to work, I still have one last backup plan. You see, sometimes things are not always about avoiding…You have to plough straight through your problem to get out of it.
"Alright. The sperm cells are deposited near the cervix and they proceed to swim up the uterus into the fallopian tubes, going through the process of capacitation whereby the calcium ions enter the plasma membrane of the sperm head and make it more sensitized to enzymes like hyalurodinase. The plasma membrane of the sperm head then fuses with the plasma membrane of the secondary oocyte. The acrosomal head of the sperm swells and burst to release the genetic material. When the maternal and paternal chromosomes align on the mitotic spindle, fertilization is said to have taken place. Hence, you are formed."
Good. That shut them up. Somehow when you make yourself sound more confident, they are more apt to accepting whatever you say. Sanosuke was now looking at me with his mouth wide open.
"Okaasan…can you say that again?" Keisuke asked in a small voice.
"No," I replied firmly. Time for backup plan. "You can always ask your grandfather later!"
Sanosuke cast me a look of utter disbelief. "My father?" He mouthed at me, looking at me as if I sprouted horns.
I nodded, turning back to my novel. Right after we had gotten together, I made Sanosuke visit his family with me, something that he had always wanted to do yet couldn't bring himself to all these years. The misunderstanding was cleared up, and now we pay visits to them twice a year with Keisuke and Saeko, who absolutely looked up to their little uncle Outa. Today happened to be the second time of the year when we are visiting the Higashidani family and spending a week at their place.
I never did mention this to anyone, but I am secretly pleased that Sanosuke still keeps his adopted surname of Sagara. Sagara Megumi sounds so much better than Higashidani Megumi.
Sometimes, Fate's way of working never fails to amaze me. Five years ago, I would never have thought that the very man who helped me at hamamatsu-cho train station would be the very person I have chosen to spend the rest of my life and have such beautiful children with. I never got to marry the life science researcher I wanted, but I am not at all regretting it. Sanosuke is such a special individual; he is the only one on this earth who is capable of giving me all that I ever asked for.
A month after that fateful New Year's Day at Tokyo Tower, he proposed to me at Yebisu Garden Place at the very same spot where we had our first kiss. I never got to use the ticket to Fukushima, and instead, settled down in Tokyo with him. I am now working at a nearby hospital, whereas he is still working for Tae at the Akabeko. Sure, life is no longer as easy as it had been for me back when I was living with my grandfather, but every single moment spent was happy and satisfying. Sagara Sanosuke made me a woman, a wife and a mother. This is all I need to stay by his side.
"Okaasan…I need 200 yen later." Saeko spoke up suddenly.
"Why is that so?" I asked. 200 yen is a small sum, but why would a four year-old child need money?
"Yuta-kun wants me to buy him some souvenirs." She replied honestly.
Yuta is Katsu and Tae's son, and playmate to Keisuke and Saeko.
"Yuta the bakayarou!" Keisuke commented. "Can't he buy his own?" That is my son for you, always protective of his sister. But…
"Sagara Keisuke! Where did you pick up such horrible language? Who taught you to call others 'bakayarou'?" If there's something that I absolutely cannot tolerate in children, it has to be foul language.
"I…I…" My son said in a small voice, before raising his hand and pointing it at the driver's seat. "I heard Otousan call Uncle Katsu that."
That rooster!
"SAGARA SANOSUKE!"
"It has nothing to do with ME!"
Guess some things just never change. –kitsune grin-
Owari.
A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed the final chapter of Love at Tokyo Tower! Though this chapter was purely on their lives together as a family and didn't have much of the original plot in it. A BIG thank you to all of you who read this story, especially those who reviewed every chapter. You guys are amazing! What more can an author ask for? Arigatou gozaimasu! -bows-
Special Thanks to:
MadiSano
Crewel
DemonSlayer205
Shysie
Akanke
Reiko17
Foxer
Nyako
Seta-girl
Princess of the Knight
Mirune Keishiko
Cricket-chan
I am going to miss this story so much…-sniffles- Please continue supporting my other works! If you have any suggestions for SM stories, please don't hesitate to tell me! Just send an email!
Ja, minna! I'll miss you all!
Glossary:
Otousan – Dad
Okaasan – Mom
Bakayarou – Stupid idiot