A/N: ooookay, no reviews from the previous chapter. fine. maybe I published it during a wrong time of a day. I hate time differences... Or then no one liked it. *sulk* But I'm nice anyways and give you next one. I hope you like this one more...

Beautiful night child, True village child and Peach tree child

Miyako, Mariko to Momoko

September 15th. This was the day. The day four-year-old Miyako Watanabe had been waiting for since the beginning of February when she heard she was going to get a little sibling. Later she heard it was going to be two little siblings. Two little sisters! They'd be named Mariko and Momoko. And today was the day they were going to be born. Miyako had been a night already at her mother's sister's place while her father was at the hospital with her mother. Auntie Aiko was nice and the previous day had been spent by Miyako telling her what the little girl would play with her new little sisters.

She went to sleep with a smile on her face, excited about tomorrow or the day after that. Depending how long the birth would take. She had heard that it could take a long time. But she could wait. As long as she'd meet her little siblings.

It was around midday next day when her father called from the hospital. The labor had taken the whole night. Aiko talked in the phone but didn't let Miyako hear. That was the first time she had a feeling something was wrong. Actually the girl had woken in the middle of the night with an uneasy feeling in her stomach but had though she had eaten something inappropriate. She was very mature for her age but for some reason – or exactly because of that – she couldn't shake the feeling something wasn't like it should have been. And there the feeling was again. Miyako gulped inaudibly while her aunt talked in the phone quietly. Finally the receiver of the landline was placed down.

"Is everything alright?" The girl asked. Aiko turned around and wiped the corners of her eyes.

"Hai, Miya-chan. Let's go to meet your parents." The woman forced a smile on her face and picked the girl up. Not a single word about her siblings. Miyako's stomach churned uncomfortably.

The hospital was white and light blue and light green and a bit light silvery grey. The only brighter colors were from the visitors' clothes, like Miyako's bright red skirt, and some fruit basket deliveries the nurses were bringing to some rooms. Miyako held tight on her aunt's hand as they walked towards the room where the girl's mother was now.

Aiko knocked on the door then they stepped in. Miyako peeked behind her aunt into the room. Her mother was half sitting on the bed a bundle on her arms. Only one baby shaped bundle. Miyako noticed she had cried and fearfully looked at her father to see if he was holding the other bundle. He wasn't and he seemed also very sad. Miyako's stomach was hurting and she felt like she was being strangled.

"Miyako-chan, come here." Her mother said. "Come and greet Mari-chan."

"Where is Momo-chan?" Came the reply. A suffocating dead silence landed into the room.

"Momo-chan… she is with obaa-san and ojii-san." Her father offered weakly. The girl's head snapped towards him. She knew her father's parents lived far away and her mother's parents were dead. Miyako knew instantly what had happened.

"But come and greet Momo-chan." Her mother tried again. This time she looked like she was starting to cry again.

"No."

"No, why not?" Aiko asked. she tried her best not to start crying too. After listening Miyako's plans of spending time with her little sisters… Only to see how everything that was to be shattered in a matter of hours.

"No! I won't greet Mariko!" The use of the full name of the baby seemed to wake the adults seeing the girl's distressed state. "I hate her! Mariko… Mariko killed Momo-chan!"

And with that Miyako ran out of the room.

Even weeks later and after Momoko's funerals Miyako still refused to make any contact with Mariko. The little girl was always shooting evil glares at her infant sister whenever they were in the same room or then just plainly ignored her. The parents of the two weren't too happy about their eldest behavior but nothing they tried made her change her mind and attitude towards the baby.

There was also another thing that bothered Miyako. And that was her parents. After the funerals they had started to act like Momoko had never existed in their lives and after a couple of sleepless nights, the girl had caught them discussing how handful one child was. How they had forgotten how much work Miyako had been as a baby when she had grown such a mature young girl and how they wondered if they'd survived at all with twin girls. This made Miyako scared. What her parents would've done if Momoko had stayed alive? All sort of horrible thoughts went around her head and she retreated quickly back into her room. It was never good to be caught from eavesdropping.

It was quite rainy and chilly November evening when the final turnaround of Miyako's thoughts happened. Her father was at the office, being a boring and career-oriented white collar worker of a traditional Japanese family while the wife stayed home. The wife in question in the other hand had passed out in exhaustion on the sofaright after changing the toddler's nappy. Mariko had been quite a handful during the past week, tiring the woman and not letting her give any attention on the eldest. Not that the attention had been much on her anyways after the baby's birth…

Miyako walked into the living room, a coloring book in her hands. She was planning to color at least five pictures properly today while lying on her stomach on her special spot on the tatami. The special spot on which Mario had been placed repeatedly to play with her toys. And even now Mariko was lying on her back on the carpet and trying to pull her socks off. Not much success in that business. In either business. The elder of the two walked quietly to the infant until she was standing right behind her head. Mariko looked up. Her chocolate brown eyes locked with Miyako's almost black ones and she cooed. An involuntary smile crept on Miyako's face and her usually so cold stare directed on the baby softened too.

"Konnichiwa, Riko-chan." She said to the baby who giggled adorably. She decided not to use the same name of endearment than her parents did. Miyako sat down on the floor by Mariko's head and stroked gently the tuft of dark brown – almost black – hair she had.

"Momo-chan would have probably looked the same. They were supposed to be identical after all…" Miyako thought. Suddenly Mariko crunched her face and...

"Acho!" The sneeze was short and cute. Not snot came out of her nose. But she did give out a shiver. Miyako frowned. The baby was cold. Little Mariko was feeling cold on the floor. What should she do? The girl looked at the stairs that led to the upstairs. They weren't too high. Maybe she could make it with the baby.

"Okay, Riko-chan, time for a… trip." She decided since the toddler couldn't walk and neither of them were going to climb of crawl them. The four-year-old got on her feet and with all the strength she could muster she lifted the roughly two-months-old toddler up and on her lap. The baby was heavy!

Slowly and carefully the pair made their way to the stairs and up them. Time to time Miyako had to sit down on them but never did she let go of her little sister. And after five minutes of struggling they finally made it to the upper floor. Miyako let out a sigh of relief: now it would be a bit easier. Hopefully.

In the nursery Miyako had to finally let go of the baby. She placed Mariko on the floor, being careful with the head, before heading to the infant's bed. Mariko watched her big sister's doings in interest, making incoherent but cute sounds sometimes. Miyako found herself smiling again as she lifted up the edge of the baby's bed. Now she had a straight access to the level of the mattress in the bed. She fetched Mariko and placed her on her stomach in the middle of the mattress before placing a blanket over her and pulling the edge back down. Mariko stared at her with wide eyes and cooed again.

"Kawaii…" Miyako muttered before dashing to her room. On her last birthday she had gotten a set of stuffed plushies which were different kind of fruits and vegetables. She fetched the peach of them and ran back to the nursery.

"Kore wa… Kore ga momo desu.(This is… This is peach.)" She told the baby, holding out the peach-plushie. Mariko giggled and her left hand waved in the air. "Anata no imouto wa Momoko desu.(Your little sister is Momoko.)"

A smile. Miyako sighed before smiling back. Babies didn't understand. Maybe they didn't need to yet. That's what older siblings were for. On that spot she decided to be the best big sister in the world for Mariko. For Momo-chan's sake.

A/N: here, please review. the next chapter will be up tomorrow I guess. It's about Natasha. No nations there either, sorry.