Chapter 2: Finders Keepers
Chapter notes: Lengthy and still the story is in the past. The actual story starts from chapter 3 or 4, haven't decided whether to put Aizens point of view in the next chapter.
Kenshi had gotten out of his car swiftly the moment his car stopped hoping that he can aid to anyone involved in the accident but after looking at wreckage he wasn't so sure about survivors, still the it is the right thing to check it out clearly since he can a make a great difference in the survival of another human being. Never in his life had he seen such a gruesome sight in person, the faces of the two adults were so disfigured that he felt that cops would be having difficulty in identifying them. He was trying hard not to puke because of the smell of burnt hair, skin, organs and various other bodily fluids. He had assumed that everyone in the car was dead and was about to leave until he heard a faint crying of a child coming from in between the corpses, gritting his teeth and holding his breath he pushed aside the corpses not so gently to find a child underneath them. He immediately took the crying child out of the wreckage and checked for any injuries it had obtained. But to his immense relief and shock he found the baby completely unharmed devoid of any injuries. Unfortunately for him he had pushed the corpses with more than he had intended to use and as a result a molten burned eyeball from one of corpses rolled out of its eye socket and touched his feet and he had stepped on it when he moved away from the car. Once he had realized what he has done, he had completely lost it. Trying hard to control the bile rising in his stomach he ran towards his car ,holding the child close to his chest .Luckily for him his wife Kasumi had stepped out of their car probably after seeing the horrifying expression on his face .He met her halfway and had transferred the baby into her hands ,he didn't have to look at her face to know that she was extremely confused and surprised at the same time. Explanations have to wait because right now he has to throw up. And throw up he did. Thankfully their daughter was still in the car like they had asked her to. He did not want her to see him like this, after all he has certain standards to maintain.
For Kasumi the day started as usual except that it wasn't a normal day for her daughter. It was her birth day so she forgot all her sad thoughts of how she couldn't give birth to another child. She knew that her husband never blamed her for it and even went to an extent of cutting ties with his relatives who were badmouthing her behind her back she felt really grateful to be married to such a kind hearted considerate man. For the whole day they had spent in the resort which they had booked ,seeing her daughter smile and scream in annoyance when her father splashed the water on her face made her forget all her worries at least for the moment .While travelling back home they had noticed a car accident on the road ,her husband asked her to keep Mizuo inside while he can go and check if he can help anyone. She wanted to stop him, to ask him to ignore it after all she had seen enough crime shows and heard incidents in the past where the looters or criminals will set a trap for unsuspecting people and then rob them ,they might even kill them or even worse than that she shuddered for a second trying to push those dark thoughts away .But the more logical and selfless part of her didn't stop him from leaving but asked to run back the moment something goes wrong. She was able to distract herself from worrying by playing with her daughters' hair who hated it and it kept her from running out of the car to the wreckage site where her husband had left few minutes ago. And from the look of sadness, revulsion and dejection on her husband's face she could understand that whoever is in there had met a gruesome death, she felt really bad for them .But from the corner of her eye she could see her husband searching for something in the car and from his body language it seemed really urgent .So she decided to get out to help him out in case he needed it.
"Sweety I am going to step outside a bit, be a good girl and stay inside the car."
The little girl looked as annoyed as girl of her age could get and replied with a pouty look on her face in a whiny manner
"Buuut moom I am bored, I want to come with you too. The rain has stopped right and I won't get sick like last time. And besides my legs are getting numb too. So please mom" replied the girl giving her patented puppy dog eyes.
Kasumi sighed, for a four-year-old her daughter is as devious and intelligent as she can be and not to mention her patented puppy dog eyes were always their weakness and it would always win them over in any normal situation but not today ,the situation isn't normal and from the look on her husband's face, the way he was rummaging through the wreck meant that something was off. She too had an ace in her sleeve when her daughter threw her infamous tantrums or was too stubborn to listen to her. She gave her daughter a big mischievous smile and moved closer to her as if they she was going to tell her a secret
"You know if you stay inside the car, I will get you anything you want once we get back home"
The little girl perked up at her mother's reply, she was trying hard not to give in but in the end her desire to get anything she wanted won over her curiosity to explore, so she shakily asked
"A-Anything? Do you really mean it?" looking at her mother suspiciously as if she was trying to fool her.
Kasumi would have laughed at her daughter's expression if the situation was different but right now doesn't want her to think that she was lying and trying to make fun of her. Years of being a model helped her school her expression to that of seriousness and replied in a serious tone
"Of course, sweet heart, why would I lie to you especially on your birth day of all days?" and she really meant it.
Her daughter was thinking for a long time and she doesn't need to be a MIT graduate to know what she will ask ,after all the little girl has gotten obsessed with characters from the famous anime Rurouni Kenshin which she had started watching recently and now she can see her daughter fighting imaginary enemies with a katana and most of her talks always end up in that anime. She still blamed her husband for introducing their daughter to such a violent anime. She patiently waited for her daughter's reply
The said girl thought for some time before replying with a big grin on her face as if she had outsmarted her mother but in reality, she was the one who got outsmarted but no way Kasumi was going to tell her that
"Wellll since you promised me anything, I want a katana just like the one Kenshin uses and I also want to join a kendo club, so that I can use that Katana in future to protect you and daddy from enemies "she said with absolute confidence laced with childish innocence.
Kasumi groaned inwardly, of course she would ask a katana like she had predicted but still it bothered her why can't It be a doll or a book or gaming console or cycle or jewellery? why should it be a weapon? Oh, she and her husband are going to have a really long talk, she inwardly ranted. But outwardly she just smiled and ruffled her daughter head affectionately and replied
"Of course, we will get you the best katana ever made and will hire you the best kendo master in our town. So, you have to keep your side of deal and stay inside the car till dad returns all right "The girl just grinned and nodded.
Kasumi got out of the car in time to see her husband running towards them with a bundle in his hand. What exactly is that bundle? And why did he look like he was about to throw up and somehow, he was holding it back? She rushed forward to meet her husband half way.
She got the answer for her first question when the small bundle which turned out to be crying baby was transferred to her hand to her immense surprise and confusion. Multiple questions were popping up in her mind, how did the child survive the accident? what exactly happened here? what are they going to do? Were things really bad there? And why was her husband throwing up his dinner? Before she could ask all these questions her mind and body froze for a second. She forgot that there was a crying baby in her hand and mentally berating herself for being careless. Her motherly instinct took over and and immediately started checking for any injuries fearing the worst .But when she couldn't find any external injuries she was slightly relieved .She held the crying baby close to her bosom and tried to comfort it but no matter what ,the baby wouldn't stop crying ,she assumed that baby had sensed that something has happened to its parents and was crying for them.
Kasumi was overwhelmed with emotions sadness and pity .She couldn't stop herself from crying .Then she remembered the lullaby which her adoptive mom used to sing her when she was a kid whenever she cried so she held baby close to her bosoms and started singing the lullaby in her sweet but affectionate voice and hoped that would be enough to calm the child
"
You and I,
We're like fireworks and symphonies exploding in the sky.
With you, I'm alive
Like all the missing pieces of my heart, they finally collide.
So stop time right here in the moonlight,
Cause I don't ever wanna close my eyes.
Without you, I feel broke.
Like I'm half of a whole.
Without you, I've got no hand to hold.
Without you, I feel torn.
Like a sail in a storm.
Without you, I'm just a sad song.
I'm just a sad song.
With you I fall.
It's like I'm leaving all my past in silhouettes up on the wall.
With you I'm a beautiful mess.
It's like we're standing hand in hand with all our fears up on the edge.
So, stop time right here in the moonlight,
Cause I don't ever want to close my eyes."
As she sang the melodious lullaby she involuntarily started crying too, she was thankful that she got to sing this lullaby again to a child even if it's not hers. By the time she had ended the song the child had calmed down and gave her a small toothy smile with some cooing noises while patting her face with its tiny hands. She in turn gave a watery smile. She decided to check if the child is a boy or girl so that she can address him or her properly instead of calling the child it. She found out that the child was a boy. For the first time since the baby was handed over to her, she saw how his brown eyes looked beautiful when he blinked or looked at her. She was mesmerized immediately by those eyes and innocent look on the child's face. She was somehow drawn to this little human in her hand and for once in her life she was without a reason ,was it because she was shocked and surprised that a mere child had somehow miraculously survived an accident or was it because the thoughts which she had suppressed within herself about not able to conceive another child or was it because of the song which she just sang and the way she held the baby to calm him down reminded her of how she used to do it for her own daughter when she was a baby or was it because of some unknown which she can't comprehend?. But one is for certain she knew that without a doubt that she is getting attached to the drooling human in her hand.
Kenshi was watching the interaction between his wife and the child. The way she responded when he handed over the child, her motherly instincts taking over to check for any external injuries and making sure the child is all right. When the child wouldn't stop crying, she started singing the lullaby which he was familiar with, the same lullaby/song which she sang when their daughter couldn't or when she was distressed and it worked too. But the unfortunate side effect of singing the song was she was crying and he was pretty sure of the reason. For the first time in his entire life he felt helpless and powerless no matter what he did, he wouldn't be able to take away the pain from her, at the max he can comfort her to the point where she will forget it for a day or two but then those thoughts will come back to haunt her again. He cleared his head pushing all those depressing thoughts out of his mind, he can't let himself to be drowned in sorrow not when his better half needed him the most. He was about to move forward to comfort her but stopped in his tracks when he laid his eyes upon most adorable and beautiful sight, the baby had calmed down and was patting her face with its tiny hands giggling making baby noises as if the woman holding him can understand it but the most surprising thing was his wife smiling back ,not one of her fake pretend smile which she usually does when she meets some random paparazzi who don't even know or can't understand the meaning of the word privacy, even though she retired from modelling longtime ago ,this was one of those real affectionate smile the ones which were reserved for their family only their family i.e him and their daughter , not even to their close friends or relatives. It's not that her smile wasn't sincere with them, it's just doesn't contain the warmth, love and affection. But here he was witnessing his wife giving that smile to someone other than their family and the fact the child had managed to make her smile in a short time was another surprise.
When she gets into one of those guilt/despair moods, it takes at least an hour for her to recover even with both his daughter and him double teaming. He couldn't help himself but chuckle at the adorable site. He could clearly see the adoration and warmth in her eyes when she looked at the baby, the same way she looked at their daughter but only that she is doing it without her knowing which might be really painful when they have to part with the child. If only time travel was possible he would go back in time and kick himself for being too enthusiastic about having two children which was partly responsible for Kasumi's need to have another child and partly because of the pretty lonely child hood she had and which she didn't want their daughter to go through it. And it's not like he didn't think about keeping the child with them. It's just felt wrong for him, at least not without finding about the identity of the couple who were killed in the accident.
Speaking of their daughter, the little girl was still inside the car playing with her doll which was rare sight to see since she would probably would be out by now either playing one of her imaginary katana fighting games or questioning about the place where they are in ,he had expected her to follow him to the wreckage site ,something which he wouldn't want her to see so early in her life, hell if possible not in her entire life. Whatever Kasumi had promised must be really huge thing for her to stay inside the car and play with dolls which she hated so much.
He placed his arm around his wife's shoulder, carefully not disturb the moment she and the child were sharing and joined her in looking at the child. The child for his part wasn't startled or alarmed by his presence. It just looked at him for few seconds, he could feel the intelligent brown eyes on him as if it was gazing into his soul analysing if he is a threat or not, then the baby smiled at him after what it seemed like an eternity and blabbered something in baby talk as if it was greeting him. He was curious to find out whether the child was a boy or a girl but was too afraid to check it out fearing that it might upset the child and disrupt the moment.
And there was another reason why he didn't check it out was he was afraid of what Kasumi might do to him if he made the boy cry again after she had spent time singing to calm it down .He still remembered the incident where he had accidently woke their daughter from sleep, he had just returned from his business trip and was in a hurry to meet his daughter after missing her for a long time. He made a beeline towards her and announced loudly that he was back and that he missed her a lot. Unfortunately for him luck wasn't on his side on that day since his daughter had a serious crying/screaming bout, it took his wife nearly 2 hours to calm her down and was resting in her room exhausted. He wasn't aware of any of these incidents which had occurred that day prior to his arrival. His daughter didn't take it kindly to be awakened like that and once again started crying even more louder than before. What happened next was a secret he would carry to his grave but he had learned two things that day how terrifying his wife can when she was pissed and the fear of angering a woman. Remembering this and instead of repeating the mistake he decided to go with the flow
"Hey there little err guy or are you a girl "he asked the child while gingerly running his hand over the child's hair afraid that even a small action might result in the baby ending up in a crying bout. To his immense relief the baby didn't cry but just blinked at him when he asked that question followed some gibberish in baby language as if it was answering his question. Kenshi just nodded his head as if he understood what the baby said and he had the sudden urge to pinch the baby's chubby cheek since it's been three years, he did that to his daughter. So, with that intent he brought his hand near the baby's face only for it to grab his hand especially the forefinger in its small chubby hand, he stilled for a moment ,his mind trying to understand /process what just happened ,then he tried to gently pry his finger from the baby's hand only for it also to be grabbed by other hand by the baby .Kenshi groaned thie was not what he had expected ,he looked at the child who had an innocent look on his face . He groaned
"You are evil, you know that." he told the baby in a whiny tone but not meaning those words. He would have pointed his finger at the child had it not been under arrest by the kid's hands so he just nodded his head in that direction. The baby started laughing after hearing his whiny tone.
Kasumi was trying her best not to laugh at her husband's situation but failed miserably when she heard the tone in which he spoke to the boy. The unamused look on his face didn't help her much either.
"Oh, Kenshi the look on your face is really hilarious and the tone you used seconds is even more hilarious. You still don't haven't learnt how to deal with babies, hahaha you should have seen your face when he caught your other hand too. And for your information the child is a boy and you still haven't gotten over your fear of making babies accidentally cry, haven't you? "giving her husband a mischievous look ignoring the glare thrown in her direction by him.
Kenshi gave an indignant scoff before replying
"whose fault do you think that is? After all you were the one who put that fear in me, all I did was to announce my presence to our daughter"
Kasumi gave a smile, not the pleasant smile which she had on her face moments ago. Kenshi felt a chill up on his spine and his instincts screaming at him to say something before it's too late.
"Its partly my fault for not checking whether she was sleeping or not" he immediately added.
Kasumi just rose her eyebrows and her face having the same smile
"Partly? Hmm You are not blaming me now, are you Kenshi?" She asked sweetly in an innocent tone.
To a stranger the tone would look innocent and filled with sweetness. But Kenshi face got even more paler since he was no stranger and he had heard this tone well enough to know that he had unknowingly and unwillingly had stepped on a landmine and it was about to go off any moment.
"N-No I wasn't, you misunderstood what I said dear Kasumi. Afterall it was you who put her to sleep calming her down when she threw the small tantrum" he blurted it out in a nervous tone trying to placate his wife.
Kasumi was looking at his face for a moment before giving him a slight smile but one could see a mischievous glint in her eyes as if she faked the whole thing. Kenshi gave a sigh of relief. The boy child had apparently sensed his discomfort and nervousness and for some he found it funny so he started giggling at him.
Kenshi glared at the boy playfully both his forefingers held still held in between his palm
"Let's see how you are going to handle, when you see the same smile and same tone which Kasumi just used little guy".
The baby just blinked before focusing his attention towards the person of interest
Kasumi snorted
"Don't worry little one that tone and smile is only reserved for this man child here, not for you and your sister"
Kenshi's eyes widened for a second at his wife's last sentence especially last two words. He realized that his wife had already gotten herself too attached to the little baby boy something which he had predicted few minutes ago but not this extent. To be honest he could find himself drawn to the little human in her hands, how could he not after all the boy was cute and adorable, more importantly a survivor not many would have survived the accident which reminded him of his own old man whom the doctors had predicted that he would never live beyond 50 years but he fought against all the odds to live up to 65 years till the disease got better of him. Not to mention there was something really intelligent about those curious brown eyes of the boy. And another reason he had started to care about the baby was that he was able to make his wife happy and at least for a moment he was able to make her forget all her worries, self-doubts and guilty feeling for which he was really grateful to the boy.
Besides he had firsthand experience of what it means to lose both the parents at a very young age. His mother had died giving birth to him and his dad passed away when he was 18 barely an adult but at least he had his aunt, grandmother and elder cousin who guided him and raised him properly, but his wife on the other hand though wasn't lucky enough she too had lost her parents at the same time as a child but unlike his case her relatives did not want to raise her so they had put her in an orphanage which was not a really pleasant experience for her based on the what she had told him about her childhood and still there are things /incidents which hasn't shared with him yet but, to have endured such things yet she had come out of it with her good nature and kindness intact . After hearing those stories, he felt that he was really lucky that he had a caring aunt who was a mother to him ,grandmother who took over the role of his father and a cousin who was a brother from different mother but his wife on the other hand had never enjoyed and experienced such familial affections during her childhood .He can't imagine himself in her position and was not sure if he would remain the same person as he was right now had he experienced such hardships and cruelties. His wanted to give her all the love and affection which she had missed as a child but in trying to do that he had unknowingly imposed his selfish thoughts on her ,which was one of the reasons for her feeling guilty .
But coming to the current situation in hand ,he did not want the child to undergo the pain and suffering of losing one's parents at a young age. He looked at child, then at wreckage and then at his wife who was running her hand over the boy's head and then at his car where their daughter was playing with her doll completely oblivious to the events happening outside. Suddenly an idea came up in his mind they could actually take the child along with them and no one will know that. They could make up some story about how they found an abandoned child near the resort and they had gotten attached to him and wanted to adopt him, informing the authorities only about the bodies they had discovered in the accident site omitting the part where they had actually found him in the car unharmed. All he had to do now was to create a proper story and alibi to convince the authorities which he can do with a proper thinking and time. Convincing his wife and daughter won't be that difficult, his wife might object initially but he is sure that her attachment towards the boy will win her over.
The moment the plan formulated on his mind ,he felt like a scum for many reasons like thinking about using his wife's attachment to the boy in convincing her, thinking like that without discussing it with his family ,he even wanted to take the child with them without confirming or verifying if he has any relatives left ,whether they are good people or not and more importantly he had even planned to fabricate evidences to support his story in trying to fool the authorities which could spoil the lives of the people involved if discovered ,he was ashamed for thinking selfishly even if he had good intentions. He sighed and shook his head before speaking
"Kasumi what are we going to do with the child now? You already know that his parents didn't survive the accident, the fact that this little guy had survived itself is a miracle and I don't want him to go through the suffering and pain of losing his parents at a young age. So, I had initially wanted to make up a story in such a way that authorities won't know that this little guy survived the wreckage so that we can take him home and raise him as our son. But then thought better of it, not the part of adopting him but the part of lying to the authorities. And now I would like to know what you think we should do with the child, shall we adopt him or shall we leave him to the authorities hoping that he has any relatives who are willing to take care of him with care and affection instead being sent to an orphanage? I want you to take your time and think carefully before deciding. I would go along with anything you decide after all we are a family"
Kasumi's mind froze for a second trying to process what her husband just said, specifically the part where he wanted to adopt the kid and raise him as their son. She hasn't gotten that thought yet but feels that if she keeps spending some more time with the child she might get it .She can understand what Kenshi was trying to say here ,thinking about her time in the orphanage and how her relatives dumped her there without a second thought ,she can understand his worries that it might happen in this case too, even though the social services and government has become strict when it comes to well fare of the children in the orphanage now a days but still a part of her which is still skeptical about these strict measures and checkups in the orphanage by the government doesn't want the boy to undergo /experience the same as events as her. She shouldn't be judging the child's relative just like that after all Kenshi's grand ma ,aunt and his cousin were there for him when he lost his parents unlike hers but no matter what when it comes to situations like these she had always been narrow minded and quick to judge ,a trait she had developed due to her past and something which she is still trying to change .
They had actually talked about adopting a child previously but she was bit hesitant about it, not that there is anything wrong with adopting, it's just she felt at that time she wouldn't be able to care and love the child like her own and she might end up hurting him/her unintentionally and then the child might come to hate her for that. But now holding the baby in her hand ,the emotional attachment she feels towards him makes adopting him easier than she had thought it would be and she can feel it in her bones that she could /would raise this child like hers with proper care and affection just like how she feels towards her daughter. She realized that all her hesitancy and fear vanished the moment she held him in her hands. But there is a big problem, like Kenshi said they could take the child home and make up a story about how they found him on their way back home and had immediately gotten attached to him hence they adopted him ,if they plan it well then they can pull it off without arising any suspicion besides the police chief's family is very close to theirs so they can call in few favors to hide this. But a question she was asking herself was can she be selfish for once? To hide the truth of a child's family from him just so she can raise him as their own not to mention those activities being questionable in nature ,it's not like they haven't done anything illegal before it's just those weren't this extreme .And she didn't even think what her husband will think about her if she decides to go with his plan, will he be disappointed in her though he did say he would go with anything she decides .She looked at the child in her hand ,then at her husband and then at their daughter in the car ,then she started thinking again ,not noticing the worried look from her husband .
Kenshi knew that it will be difficult for Kasumi to decide between trying to do the right thing and being selfish for once by giving in to her desires. But there are things which no one can decide other than themselves and this is one such situation. He did say that he would be ok with anything she chooses and he will keep up that promise no matter what .And besides it would be hypocritical of him to judge her decisions since he himself had thought of taking the kid back home with them without informing anyone .It looks his wife has decided what she wanted to do with the situation
"I want to take the child back with us to our home ,then we inform the authorities about this accident officially omitting the survival of this child but unofficially we will inform Honsho San and Ishida San about the baby and call in a personnel favor with them , since both of them are our family friends they might understand the situation though convincing ishida san would be difficult since he will be the one to provide a fake birth certificate and medical certificate for this child confirming that he is ours and that the child had some medical condition which forced us to leave the child in his care at the hospital for some time and now that condition is cured we are taking him back to our home ,then we discreetly check if the deceased couple have any living relatives. Incase if they have, we will make sure that they sign the adoption papers and NDA after paying them enough cash to make sure that they would remain silent about the situation. Then we will publicly announce the boy as our son before some pesky reporter finds about him so things wouldn't be suspicious "Kasumi informed him the plan which she had formulated few minutes ago with a big smile on her face.
Kenshi was gob smacked. He had assumed that nothing could surprise him than a mere toddler surviving a gruesome accident but his wife's crazy dangerous plan just outdid it by miles .Never in his life would he have thought that his wife who followed procedures and rules, the one who got mad at him for bribing some government officials or when he did something slightly illegal forcing him to sleep on the couch ,the same woman had managed to come up with a plan which not only involves lying also convincing not one but two authoritarian figures to support their lies but also paying the supposed relatives of the child to be silent and forget about his existence. Not to mention this was just half of her plan, he did not even want to think about the other half, fearing that his brain would shut off if he did.
He sighed and he would have rubbed his face with his hands had it not been for the fact they were held hostage by the little boy, for a child the boy sure is strong he thought to himself. The plan itself wasn't bad in fact it was better than his at the least, convincing Honsho and Ishida to be an accomplice to his wife's crazy plan was not an easy job but it was not a difficult job either but, there was a major flaw on the plan .Adopting the boy was one thing but announcing him as their real son was something more problematic, once the press/media hears this info about them having a second child .It would be a field day for them ,some of most predictable but problematic questions which they might ask are "where was child born?, why didn't they announce his birth earlier ?,when was he born ?,why did they hide him from public ? and many more to which they could answer if planned properly which requires lot of time ,time which they would not have depending on how fast they find the relatives so technically the entire plan depends on finding the boy's relatives .But for the moment he will go along the with the flow and take the child to their home, where they can rest, plan properly and have private conversation with few people . And of course, they have to inform the authorities about this accident.
"All right Kasumi lets go with your plan but it needs to be flawless and fool proof, lets inform the authorities about this accident now, then after reaching home lets have a private conversation with Honsho and Ishida. I'm not sure how they are going to take in this situation but we have to try hard to convince them to be on our side which would be really helpful for our case" he stopped to gauge his wife's reaction.
Kasumi for her part was paying attention to what he was saying with calm and collected expression on her face while she was running her hands over the child 's hair.
"But the main issue is how we are going to make the media believe in the story which we are going to cook up or which you have already cooked up? We have to plan about this part clearly since one mistake might be the end for all of us and also time taken to find the kids relatives plays a major role too. The quicker we find them, the easier it will be for us to convince them to hand over the rights for this little guy" he nodded at the baby.
Kasumi had a frown on her face the moment Kenshi mentioned about the media, she had an expression which looked as if she had swallowed a bitter pill.
People always assumed that being a celebrity means that they are immune to everything thrown at them by the press and the media which isn't true, in fact the celebs are the ones who are more affected by them, being monitored for 24 hrs ,not even enjoying a single moment of peace in a public place without being followed by the pesky reporters or crazy fans, each and every action of theirs scrutinized . Tabloids, magazines, newspapers, blogs, and other forms of media constantly judge celebrities on their personalities, habits, bodies, and a lot more. From a layperson's point of view, it's like having a million people talk behind your back on a daily basis. Moreover, celebrities have no privacy, Kasumi could recall a handful of times where she had a dinner with Kenshi or her friends in a public place without getting interrupted either by a crazy stalker fan or tabloids. Lastly and more importantly being a celebrity means that you have to control your emotions no matter how rude annoying the reporters were behaving or how creepy some of the fans were acting around them, they still have to handle the situation with a smile on their face calmly ,god forbid if anyone of them for once acted a bit angry /rude then the entire story would be twisted and they would be seen as the person who wronged them not the other way around ,the stress she had to go through because of it was too much.
So she knew firsthand how the media can /will make the story into a drama and try to ruin their family not that they succeeded in their efforts ,after all being a celebrity comes with a price of having lot of fake friends and enemies ,in her case it was more than the usual amount because of the way she dealt with the tabloids and other back stabbers/cutthroats in the industry. And after the birth of their daughter they had to sue many of those newspapers and get restraining orders for invasion of privacy and spying on their family affairs illegally.
In spite of the warning, an article about her complete disappearance from the eyes of the public was published speculating that she had given birth to a second child. The real reason for her disappearance was that she was indeed admitted to Ishida sans hospital because she had come up with an illness and the treatment for it required her presence in the hospital for 10 months but the fools running those gossip papers didn't know about it and had written that garbage on a whim .The only reason why none of the parties involved had sued them was not out of good will or that they were too magnanimous ,it was because they didn't have time and patience to correct these claims made by idiots and the sheep who believed it .But now thinking about it she can use the same nonsense to their advantage and fool them into believing their story.
She looked at her husband with a big grin on her face and replied
"We don't have do anything to fool the media since they themselves have given us a way out unintentionally"
Kenshi was confused for a moment before realization dawned upon his face
"Please tell me that you are not talking about that article which was published a year ago? "he asked incredulously. He prayed to whatever deity watching over him that that's not the one she is referring too. But the more logical part of his mind reminded him that's the only article which they can use to their advantage and that considering his wife's hatred for these tabloids( not that he find it wrong in fact those scums deserved every bit of vengeance Kasumi had planned in her mind , it's just that he didn't want to take a risk in this situation not when a kid is involved in it ) ,it would be the most obvious one .But still he prayed in his mind for his own satisfaction while waiting for her reply.
Kasumi looked at her husband with the same smile on her face but this time there was glint in her eyes
"Yes, the same one where they had mentioned that I had given birth to another child whom we are still hiding from the eyes of the public. Since I have grown tired of being paranoid and have no reason to hide the child anymore, so hence we are acknowledging the truth in public. I mean we didn't respond to their speculation which turned out to be a blessing in disguise for us. And its about time we put a stop to those ridiculous talks about us being paranoid and I can't find a better way than this. It's a win win situation for us, we can keep the little guy with us legally without any trouble and the tabloid can't question /investigate us without losing their integrity "she replied as if her plan was perfectly normal and didn't have any hidden agenda or intent in it.
Kenshi was about to call her on for her blatant lie but thought better of it and glint in her eye might have played a part too. He sighed again, it seems he had been doing that a lot today at least their daughter wasn't there to see his hand being held hostage by her soon to be brother, their new son, son a relationship which he thought wouldn't be calling anytime soon. But, here he is calling this little guy their son and he was pretty sure that their daughter would gladly accept him as her brother. Speaking of her, why is she still in the car playing with her dolls or at least she was pretending to because as far as he knows she abhors that activity like how her mother abhors the tabloids ,dirt sheets and gossip news shows. Their daughter was a perfect mix of both of them in appearance and character ,she had inherited his hair colour and nose but her eyes on contrary were her mothers ,character vise she is just like her mother sweet ,caring ,shrewd when need to be ,highly perceptive but scarily enough she had inherited both her mother's temper and ability to hold grudge not to mention she also had inherited his stubbornness which was a bad combination when she threw a temper tantrum or something pissed her off but stubbornness was not the only character she had inherited from him ,she like him was a skilled leader even though she hasn't got any chance to showcase it ,he had no doubts that she will in the future and the ability to think clearly even in tense situation. His thoughts froze when he realized something and before he could stop himself, he swore
"Shit"
This would have earned him a slap on the head from his wife after all they had a no swearing rule around any kids. But since she was holding the child, Kasumi could only express her displeasure through her voice
" Kenshi !,thought we had a rule about not swearing in front of kids, what happened to that ?"she said with as much as annoyance she could muster in her voice .
This only got a chuckle form her husband which only annoyed her further
"What is so funny about my question? Care to elaborate, then may I can also laugh "her voice had an edge to it and she was giving her husband the evil eye.
He only smiled at her in a placating manner and replied
"I was laughing not at your question but at the situation and it's my only way not freaking out. That's also the reason why I swore"
Kasumi was confused now, what was there to laugh at the situation other than the fact that they were practically committing a crime which was equivalent to stealing a baby from its parents and faking a s tory about how it was theirs ,in fact her husband should be freaking out or at least getting tensed once the adrenaline had subsided but instead he swore and then was laughing for no reason. She was worried that stress from the situation had started affecting her husband and that's why he was laughing and so she cautiously questioned her husband in a calm placating tone
"Kenshi you are ok right ?No stress or anything right? .If you are too stressed about this whole plan we can find a different way to keep this guy with us ,no harm done. So please tell me why you were laughing all of a sudden? I am slightly worried"
After hearing that ,Kenshi was looking at her like she had grown an extra head .How on the earth did she come to a conclusion like that .He was slightly offended that she had assumed that he would get easily stressed ,an accident like this nor the crazy plan his wife came up with not that he would tell that to her face he wouldn't want to spend his night on the couch ,thank you very much. He smirked at his wife and was amused to see her demeanor change from worried calm to annoyance /anger .So he slightly chuckled and replied
"Two words our daughter"
Kasumi was first confused why would he laugh thinking about their daughter, then she realized what her husband meant and why was he had come so close to freaking out. Now this time she swore and it was worse than Kenshi's
" Oh fuck what are we going to do Kenshi?"
Kenshi started laughing loudly at his wife's swearing and her reaction when she realized what he meant by their daughter being the reason and decided to make fun of the situation after all it wouldn't do any good if they started freaking out
"Isnt this what they call as Pot calling the kettle back? How ironic. Sweet heart you finally swore that too in front of a child who also happens to be our future son "
"Hahahahahahahahahaahahahaha and the reason for it was not the cops or tabloids or gossip news talk shows or any pesky reporters but our daughter ,hahahahahahahaha this is hilarious ,I wish I had a camera so that I could capture this moment ,your reaction was so adorable and funny at the same time.I knew that you will swear at a point in your life but I didn't think that the cause would be our daughter "saying that he continued laughing not noticing the glare thrown in his direction or the change in expression in his wife's face.
Kasumi was initially embarrassed by the fact that she had lost her composure and swore in front of a child, she had enough grace to blush at her momentous mis slip of decorum. But her husbands continuous laughing at her embarrassment was getting on her nerves he was so busy with mocking that he didn't even notice the glare which she had sent his way, which annoyed her even further. Before she could say something, the baby started laughing at her too. The laugh was infectious that she couldn't control her laughter either her anger/annoyance disappeared in seconds. She looked at the baby in mock anger and said with a pout on her face
"You traitor "she exclaimed dramatically which got her husband's attention, she continued
"Laughing at your future mothers' misfortune eh you little devil" and she started smiling too .
Kenshi replied
"Wow that's a record not even I and our daughter together combined wouldn't be able to calm you down in such a short time when you get annoyed. Maybe I should start making this little guy laugh a lot then."
Kasumi replied in mockingly sweet tone while moving her hand through the boy's hair in an affectionate manner
"This little guy is the only reason why you are not sleeping in the couch today and you remember that"
Kenshi's face paled and he gulped which in turn got a satisfied smirk from her. Wanting to change the subject he asked her the question which had been in his mind from the moment he had seen their daughter sitting inside the car peacefully instead of being her usual curious boisterous self
"Ehh Kasumi what did you do to persuade our daughter to sit inside the car peacefully instead of her being her usual self? You didn't make a deal or pact with devil or something to achieve this right ?"
Kasumi had momentarily forgotten about her promise to her daughter but her husband in an attempt to change the conversation had reminded her of it. She frowned at that question initially, remembering exactly what she had promised her daughter for her birth day present. Ironically the person responsible for their daughter's obsession with katanas had asked the question reminding her of the rant she had in her mind .Then an evil idea popped in her mind ,her husband wouldn't have expected what she had promised their daughter in return for her staying inside the car till he returns to their car ,since he knew about her dislike blood and violence .The expression on his face after his mind had processed properly the answer she will be replying for his question would be too hilarious oh how she wished that she had a camera with her so that she could record everything her husband had said or done for past few minutes ,like how he had struggled with the child ,his hands being held hostage by the child etc. Smirking internally, she schooled her features and with a big smile on her face she replied her last sentence laced with sweetness and mirth
"Oh, I didn't do anything of such caliber, just promised her something which she had asked me in return she will be staying in the car till you return. And you know she had been asking us that for a long time "
Kenshi was surprised at that reply and he was even proud of his wife for achieving something that is near impossible single handedly or that's what he was thinking till he heard the last sentence which made him backpedal his thought process ,the sweetness and mirth in that sentence along with the big grin on her face and the amusement in her eyes didn't sit well with him either. So he quickly started recalling al lthe conversations their daughter had with them related to gifts especially the ones in which both he and his wife had refused to buy her that item. It wasn't that difficult for him to find out what his wife had promised to buy their daughter and for a second, he thought she must be joking after all Kasumi hated anything related to blood, violence and knifes. But compared to their courtship days she somewhat got accustomed to it after all she had to put up with two adrenaline junkies in their home .The second one, their daughter became not only an adrenaline junky but also a Katana obsessed junkie ,the second one was his fault actually after he had introduced her to the action animes involving Katana wielding protagonists recently and one among them is her favorite "Rurouni Kenshin" , after started watching this she had demanded/requested/pleaded to them to buy her a Katana. That's the only thing they had refused their daughter so far .It was at this moment he realized what his wife had promised to get her. He looked at his wife in shock ,trying hard not believe what he had just discovered.
Kasumi for her part gave her husband a smirk when she saw that perfect imitation fish out of water expression on her husband's face. The smirk turned into full scale laughter since she couldn't control it. Her husband's expressions never cease to amuse her. She sighed dreamily. it's one of the reasons why she fell in love with him in the first place. And for some reason their daughter hadn't inherited her father's humor but instead had inherited her side of personality. She looked at her husband who was having a hard time in believing what he had just realized .
"No its not a joke ,I have promised to get her a katana ,no im not happy about it ,It's a price we have to pay for her to be inside the car for a short time. And besides its her birth day , we have not denied her anything on her birthday and I had unfortunately promised her to get anything ,so I have to keep up my words "
Unfortunately for Kenshi's his self denial was short lived after hearing it from his wifes the promise had been made by him ,he would have twisted it in his favor after all he was a successful business man and one of the richest person in Japan for nothing but it was his wife who had promised it. One thing he liked the most about his wife is that she is a woman of her words, once she had promised something she would never go back on it until she had fulfilled the promise. So asking her to twist the word is out of the equation .By the look on her face he could see that she was enjoying his suffering .He glared playfully at her
"Why do I feel like that you are enjoying this so much ?. And there is no way I can convince you out of this isn't it?"
Kasumi simply shrugged or at least tried as best as she could and replied
"And whose fault do you think it is that she asked for a katana? If I am going through this then at I might as well enjoy your hilarious expressions and suffering. But you are not going to do that with this little guy right? Our home has more than enough adrenaline junkies"
Kenshi groaned then mumbled a reply which faintly sounded like yes.
Satisfied with his reply she nodded and grinned. She then reached husband and patted his head like how a mother would pat a child which only got a glare from him.
While both parents were fooling around with each other , they didn't notice their daughter who was inside the car the whole time stepping outside the car .The little girl was in the car playing with her dolls silently even though she doesn't like it ,in fact she would rather spending the time outside the car than inside but her mother had promised her to get a katana which she had wanted for a looong time if she remain inside till her dad gets back . And she was there even after her dad had returned but the funny part was that it was her mother's loud laugh that finally drew her attention from her dolls. She noted that her father had returned surprisingly with a child or at least that's what she saw from her point of view inside the car. Being curious by nature she opened the door of the car to inquire about it
"Mom ! Dad!" she yelled to gain their attention startling the unsuspecting parents. It took all their will power not flinch or jump and the other thing was the kid. The poor unsuspecting parents had not expected their daughter to do that but knowing her well they should have at least paid attention to what she was doing from time to time.
Kasumi was the first to recover from the surprise. She knew that screaming or yelling at her daughter isn't going to help anyone in the situation. She should have known that at some point the little girl would have gotten bored in playing with her dolls and would have snuck out. The fact that she had stayed inside the car itself for a long time was a miracle, not to mention the reward she got in return played a part in it too. She glared at her daughter or at least pretended to which didn't have any effect on her since her attention was focused on the little being in her hand. Before she could say anything, her husband started talking
"Geez Mizuo! You nearly gave me a heart attack with your scream. Warn a person before you do something like that. You know that your old man I not as courageous as your mom, right? ,even though she was also bit scared "Kenshi spoke ignoring the glare thrown in his direction by his wife for the scred comment.
This got a giggle from the little girl
"I didn't mean to scare you this time dad and its not my fault you are so easy to scare .Besides I was bored sitting inside the car and I came out because of mom's laughter and Is that really a baby in her hand ,Can we keep it ?Please mom ,dad I will take good care of it. I will feed it regularly and play dress up with it "she replied in her childish voice with a clarity and maturity so unlike a child but with an enthusiasm so like a child.
Kenshi could only stare at his daughter dumbly. Kasumi on the other hand wasn't impressed
"Mizuo! Didn't I tell you to stay inside the car? Why are you outside? its bit dangerous young lady so get back inside the car and for your information babies are not pets you know." she said in a tone which left no room for arguments.
But mizuo just blinked at her mother before replying in a innocent tone or as innocent as child of her age could speak
"But mom you were the one who told me to stay inside the car till dad comes back. I was inside the car till I heard your loud laughing and the baby in your arm. I was already bored and was curious too. So, I got out, so I didn't break the promise."
Kenshi started laughing after hearing that but one look at his wife who was slightly embarrassed his laughter became twice as loud as before. Kasumi could only glare at him before she looked at her daughter with a sheepish smile on her face and replied
"It's true that you had kept your word but still I prefer you would rather stay inside the car since it's safer and warm. And to your question we found this baby inside that car and since no one was there we thought we could take him with us "Kasumi paused waiting for her daughters reaction after telling her daughter the half-truth (despite the fact her daughter being too mature for her age still there are things which should not be told to a kid).
Kenshi was bit surprised that his wife had told their daughter the truth or at least what they could tell a kid .He didn't expect her to ask her that question ,knowing his wife he had assumed that she would be bit creative and crafty about informing their daughter about the new future family member if thinks go well according to the plan. A logical part of him agreed that what his wife did was better than their daughter discovering the entire truth when she grew up, this might probably avoid any further misunderstandings in the future.
The little girl's full attention was focused on the kid in her mother's arm, realizing this Kasumi continued from where she had left
"So that he can become a part of our family. This baby might become your brother if you want him to be "
Mizuo didn't reply but instead was looking at the baby with interest. Kasumi beckoned her daughter to come closer so that she can have a better look at the boy. Apparently, the said baby had realized the presence of the new comer and was staring right back at her. Soon it turned out to be a staring contest between the two children, to the amusement of the adults who shared a look.
Finally, it was mizuo who lost the unofficial staring contest but the girl had a small smile on her face. She like her mother touched the baby's cheek and started playing with it, eliciting a giggle from the child. It was at this moment mizuo declared something with a maturity so uncommon for a child,
"I'm going to be the best big sister you could ever have and I'm going to protect you from villains and bad guys who would try to make you cry "
The adults chuckled at that declaration thinking that the girl was trying to imitate one of those protagonists from her the anime she was watching but they didn't realize how serious she was at that time or how hard she would try to keep up that promise.
After having a good laugh at their daughters expense the adults decided to proceed with the plan they had talked about. Kenshi had called the authorities and informed them about the accident withholding the information about the baby they had found in the car and after giving them his contact information. Then he proceeded to call Ryuken and Honsho (somehow the baby had let his hand free since he was busy playing with mizuo) in a conference call informing both of them that he want to talk to them immediately in private if they are available .Somehow he had managed to convince them to meet them at their home without giving away anything he did say that it has got to do something with accident which both the men were informed about since Ryuken's hospital being the one usually dealing with cases/incidents such as this and Honsho being the chief police authority .Though Kenshi felt that Ryuken had seen through his lies or at least suspected that something was off , Honsho was more worried than suspicious about his call ,not as perceptive of Ryuken was but still perceptive in his own way after all he is the top police official for the district .The only difference between both men was Ryuken was slightly less empathetic than Honsho or more appropriate to say doesn't show emotions externally .But the bottom line was he had somehow managed to convince them to meet him at his place in an hour or two.
Before they leave, he wanted to check the car one last time If he could find anything to know if they had named the baby or something which he can give him as a remembrance to his parents like a chain or a ring or a photo album. Kasumi was slightly against it but she understood the meaning behind his child should be denied of the name given by his parents even if he might not know the truth for the time being.
Kenshi couldn't find anything which would give information about the child's name but he managed to find a pendant in the seat where he had found the baby first. The pendant looked like a halfmoon except that it was mixture of black and white stripes instead of complete white, if one could look closer the pendant was emitting a slightly unnatural but protective aura. Kenshi didn't pay much attention though since he was glad that he was able to find something which the child had gotten from his family. He returned back with the pendant.
"I was able to find only this pendant and nothing about his name or date of birth" he said handing over the pendant to his wife and taking the baby from her.
Kasumi looked at pendant and for a second, she felt an aura emitting from it before it completely vanished. But she just assumed that it was nothing but her mind playing tricks with her. Both the children were looking at the pendant in her hand.
"Wow, it's a really pretty pendant "her daughter exclaimed with a slight awe and excitement in her voice.
Kenshi chuckled slightly before replying
"It is isn't it?. Guess who is going to get it?
Mizuo pondered for a second before replying
"Mom already promised me a present so it's not for me. You don't like to wear chain or pendant so its not for you either. Mom has lots and lots of jewels at home even though she rarely uses all of them I wonder why she still buys them. Since she has lots of them, I think it's not for her. So the only one left is the baby so is this for him?" she asked looking at her dad.
Kenshi had a hard time trying to control his laughter but the sour/embarrassed look on his wife's face on hearing mizuo roasting her unintentionally was making it hard for him. This didn't go unnoticed by her though ,if looks could kill Kenshi would have died multiple times ,each death being painful than before. Kasumi simply mouthed two words "Couch today", which put a stop to his laughter. But Kenshi thought that it was worth it.
He looked at his daughter and replied
"Yes, you are right sweet heart, would you like to put it on the baby?"
Mizuo looked at her mother with wide eyes and questioned
"Can I mum, please?"
Of course, Kasumi couldn't deny her daughter when she looked at her with her puppy dog eyes. Once Mizuo had finished putting the ornament around the baby's neck. She asked her parents something which neither of them had given a thought about
"Mom, dad are we going to call the baby just baby, are we not going name him? Its going to be confusing and difficult calling him only baby"
Both adults were surprised that it was their daughter who had thought about it and not them. After throwing in many names like Byakuran, Murata, Itachi, Kenichi and Tsuna which were Kesnhi's suggestion him being a fan of shounen anime. Kasumi refused to name the baby after anime characters threw her own suggestions like Kenzaburo, Haruki, Ryu, Shintaro and Kenzo, her being fan of post ww2 modern Japanese literature writers, which in turn were vetoed by Kenshi. After some childish argument and name calling on both sides.
Finally, it was mizuo who had to come up with a name
"How about we call him "Keigo"? she asked her bickering parents. It's a wonder that they had heard her since they were arguing a bit too loudly. The adults stopped their childish argument about how the names which they had thrown in was better than others or vice versa and were looking at their daughter with embarrassment clouding on their respective faces. Embarrassed that they were acting like kids while their kid was acting like an adult and had managed to come up with a name.
With a sheepish smile Kasumi looked at her daughter and said
"That's a nice name Mizuo, how did you come up with that name "
then playfully glaring at her husband she said
"How come you didn't come up with a good name like that?
Who in turn glared back at her and replied?
"There is nothing wrong with the names I had suggested, they are great names of people known for their valor and awesomeness. Far better than the ones you had suggested. Who will name their kid after some boring literature writers name"?
If looks could kill Kenshi would have died painfully that was the amount of intensity behind Kasumi's glare which shut him up from further making any scathing remarks about her choice of names. Kasumi just gave him a smug grin
"Since you have informed both Honsho san and Ryuken san ,will it be better if we leave now since its really cold and I don't want the kids getting sick" .The words we don't want to expose the presence of the child and screw up our plan even before we execute it properly left unsaid but Kenshi understood that .
Kenshi just nodded
"Yeah you are right besides they will be meeting us in three hours since they have to inspect the accident scene, the cause of accident and other stuffs. So, it will give us time to prepare"
"Prepare for what Dad?" Mizuo asked innocently. Both the parents were bit surprised that the girl was paying attention to their talk but Kenshi being a business man had learned how to go with the flow so he replied nonchalantly
"Oh, you know, prepare a bed, change of clothes for this little guy not mention food since babies can't eat the same food as us and stuffs like that"
The girl nodded
"Oh, sounds boring "which earned a chuckle from the adults.
The family of four left for their home once kenshi had gotten confirmation from Honsho that he will be arriving with his team in half an hour. No one in the family except the child was able to see a bespectacled man following the car.