Shou kissed Ume's sweaty forehead and said words straight from his heart "You never looked as beautiful as today"
"If you think that's enough motivation for me to go through this again, you're deeply mistaken," Ume said after kissing his palm. "So this is it. We did it."
Ume's labor lasted 9 hours. Shiro was born at 4:49 and Yuki at 5:01.
"Yes. I have never seen Father this happy" Shou said.
Yuzu was holding Yuki. Mei was holding Shiro. They introduced them to their Grandfather.
Yuzu spoke with a softness in her voice Mei has never heard before, "Hey, this is gramps. He's such a big softie. He's gonna spoil you even more than he did Mei and me."
Mei tilted her head and pretended to listen to Shiro. "What's that? You want Grandpa to hold you?"
He laughed. Over the two years between their engagement and their wedding, his two granddaughters have become so attuned to each other. "Tell them their grandpa would love to."
They put the new-borns carefully in his arms. Mei stayed in the front as a security measure, and Yuzu went around the back and pushed her grandfather's wheelchair near Ume's bed.
"Congratulations," Daigo said. "They have your eyes. I hope they will have as much determination and tenacity"
Ume has grown in Daigo's esteem after the support, the loyalty and the understanding she has given his son. Not to mention how highly and fondly Mei spoke of her. Ume has given the Aiharas' legacy too much without once asking for anything in return. Above all, Ume and her daughter have expanded his understanding of "family".
Five years ago, when Shou and Ume showed up at his desk asking for his blessings, Daigo didn't think there would come a day where he'd ask for theirs. As matters stood, Shou was still unwilling to take over the Academy. The next in line wasn't Mei anymore. It was the three-hour-old Aihara Shiro.
"Thank you, Father," Shou said. "Ume and I have an announcement to make. If it is acceptable, I would like to take up the position as the academy chairman permanently as well as the head of the family. However, we would like to request to stay at our current home and-... "
"Dear," Ume interrupted him, "I think your father doesn't care about that right now. What he needs is a big hug from his idiot son. Mei, give me Yuki, you can leave Shiro in there." Ume noticed tears welling up at the corners of Mei's eyes "Gosh, look at you. Those two won't hug even if their lives depended on it. Make them do it."
Mei did what her mother said. She, her father, and her grandfather huddled around her baby brother who slept peacefully in his grandfather's arms.
Yuzu took a picture and whispered to her mom. "I love this, but I'm kinda upset they're leaving Yuki aside. She's a newborn too."
Ume spoke as softly as she could to Yuzu. "I never thought I'd say this, but you, Yuki and I are Aihara ladies and have to behave as such. I need to have a long talk with you about the meaning of being a wife… Mei needs you now. As soon as Shou and your grandpa go out, listen to her."
"Mei's a lady too"
"Yes, but it's more complicated in her case. Before she met you she tried so hard to deny her femininity. You made mama proud and made her a girl"
"Would you stop with that? If I made her the girl wouldn't that make me the guy?"
"Nah. Matsuri says you're both useless bottoms"
"Is that what you always talk about with Matsuri?"
"What is there left to talk about?"
"My sex life?"
"Yup 3. Your father doesn't wanna discuss it, and neither of you want to claim they're topping."
"For God's sake, you're holding Yuki!"
"What's wrong with that? I wanna start early with her sexual education. I made that mistake with you. I want a daughter who gawks at cute boys like I did when I was young."
"You still do."
"Don't tell your father. I mean you two don't even look at other girls. I mean there's having eyes only for each other, but you two are on another plane of existence."
"It's called being demisexual! "
"You turned her into a girl, she turned you into a nerd. I know she's always on top when it comes to school, so that's a boring subject."
"Well, I'll have you know that I found a subject I excel at. Psychology. Mei was so conflicted when I got the best paper. She was torn between saying she was proud of me and stomping her feet in frustration. It was so cute."
"My God. You're so far gone, nerd. I must protect Yuki and Shiro from you, Mei and Shou!"
"I told you I was proud of you," Mei said, having overheard the last bit of their conversation. She sat down on Ume's other side, with Shiro in her arms. "Misinterpreting my expression shows that you still have a ways to go when it comes to learning psychology as a discipline. Dad and grandfather went outside. For the record, we could hear you talking about our sex life."
"Sorry." Ume said, feeling a little embarrassed but not affected by guilt in the slightest.
"In any case, they have a lot to discuss. I think they're going to schedule a proper time to discuss matters at length."
"I wonder what they'll be talking about?" wondered Yuzu.
Mei and Ume exchanged meaningful glances.
Yuzu noticed it, "What?"
"Baby, give me your hand." said Mei. Yuzu complied. "Let us not fight today. Today is about Yuki and Shiro."
"What did you do?"
"Remember the me who made the decision was pre-wedding me. The one who couldn't get it through her thick head that you needed to see Manami and Kana alone. We should go meet them, by the way. The point is-..."
Ume laughed. "Like father like daughter. You sound just like your dad when he tries to admit he did something wrong. What Mei is trying to say, dear, is that Shou, her and I have already discussed what Shou will be doing. She asked us not to bother you with it so close to the wedding."
"You knew about this?" Yuzu gave Ume a reprimanding look.
"Yes. I understood her as a fellow wife and couldn't refuse her as a mother"
"Yuzu, baby." Mei tried to get Yuzu to focus on her. "I'm the one to blame. I'll do whatever you want later as an apology, but that's not what's important now. I'll tell you everything right here, right now."
"Go on," Yuzu said, unconvinced, but remembering her mother's advice: listen.
"Father is taking over the academy and he's becoming the Aihara head. That much, you know. As it stands, the academy is nothing but ground to groom future wives for wealthy individuals. The board wants to keep it that way. Father plans to abolish that philosophy. First, by making the Aihara Academy co-ed. Second, by making the position of the Chairman open to the public and not just a position where the board can appoint whoever they wanted. Third, by separating Aihara's Head position from the chairman's position What it means for me, is that in the future I can take over based on merit and not just because I'm blood-related. You know what that means, right? I can give you all of me."
Yuzu knew well the complicated situation they were in. Their marriage was not recognized by Japanese law. Mei was still unwed in the board's eyes. Many homosexuals had to hide their orientation by marrying someone of the opposite sex while carrying on with their lives with their real partner in secret. The board wanted her to do something along those lines. Mei refused categorically when she was approached with the idea. Her father said that she told the board member who was proposing his son "I can't approach my love for my fiancee with anything but sincerity. That is the only way I can face her." Furthermore, a fake marriage didn't solve the problem in Mei's eyes. As the sole heir to her family's name by bloodline, it was her duty to carry an heir to the name. Mei knew that whoever proposed the idea had that in mind. That's where Shiro comes in. Through what Shou was trying to accomplish, Mei could become the chairman without being the head of the family, and Shiro could become the family head without having to become the chairman.
Yuzu took it all in and decided to not add to Mei's woes. She pretended to listen to Yuki "What's that? You want me to forgive your stupid onee-chan? You're lucky Yuki put in a good word for you."
Mei kissed Yuki, "We have the best onee-chan in the world."
Ume giggled, "Hey, Mei. You know that you'll have to start calling her Yuzu-onee-chan, right?"
"Right. I'll call her that when talking to Shiro and Yuki."
Yuzu went around the bed and put her arm around Mei's shoulders "Something else on your mind?"
Mei kissed Yuzu's temple and ticked Shiro's nose. He grabbed her finger. The birds in Mei's heart fluttered.
"I'm conflicted," Mei said after a long pause, "Like Father and Grandfather, I'm happy the family lineage has a new chance, but I can't help but feel wrong about putting such a heavy burden on such tiny shoulders."
"Then you have no choice but to help him grow those tiny shoulders into big strong ones," said Yuzu, "and there is no other person better qualified to watch over him than you."
"Just make sure not to pamper him too much."
"Trying to take the favorite onee-chan spot already? Not gonna fall for that."
"I wonder what's the appropriate age to tell them about us…" Mei said, sourly recalling how much they had to hide in their final year of high school.
"Again." said Ume, "Like father like daughter. You're trying to take on too much like you always do. You can't cross a bridge before getting there first. You have many other things to focus on now. You just got married. You still haven't experienced any of the challenges that come with it. You're also a big sister now. All you can do is love them. Do you remember how both of you agonized about telling us about your relationship? We couldn't rush you to tell us. You suffered and we had to endure watching you go through the motions, because for you two, it was part of maturing and accepting who you are. When you finally told us, didn't you discover all you had to remember is that your parents loved you? All you have to do is to make Shiro and Yuki love you."
Ume kissed each of her children on their foreheads.
"Speaking of agonizing," said Shou who was standing at the door, "Your mother and I have something to tell both of you when we get home, now that the situation has changed."
"About time." said Ume.
The ride home was unbearable. Shou announced that he was about to tell them something major as if he was saying "the weather outside is nice", then proceeded to discharge Ume from the hospital.
The first few hours at home weren't any better. Feeding and putting the twins to sleep took priority. When the four of them sat down, the air became heavy. Ume held Shou's hand through his account of the gruesome reality that was his volunteer work throughout the world. Mei kept tabs on his NGO. She knew the official accounts embellished the reality, but she never thought it would be that horrifying.
Yuzu couldn't hold back tears. Ume has lived with his secret for five years. She remembered clearly all the details of what Shou was summarizing.
"I apologize for not coming forward before today," Shou said through a sigh of relief and exhaustion.
Mei stood up and kneeled before her father. She took his hands and kissed them. "Welcome home, father."
All the years of his absence didn't matter anymore. He was safe and sound. It's all that mattered. She wasn't there for him as much as he wasn't there for her. Then it hit her. She stood up and hugged Ume. The only reason they could sit together as a family was a result of her sacrifices. "I love you." Mei said.
"I know," Ume whispered, patting her head. "I love you too."
"What upsets me the most," said Yuzu after drying her tears, "is that now we'll start hiding things from Shiro and Yuki"
"That's just how the way the world works." Shou said. "That's why it is a blessing when you find someone you don't have to hide anything from." He pulled Ume into a kiss.
"That's the first time you kissed me in front of the girls," Ume said.
"It is okay to hide that." said Mei.
"Speaking of which, you never kiss Yuzu in front of your dad."
"It's alright," Shou said, "she doesn't need to."
"I'm gonna kiss her." Yuzu got up from her chair, opening her arms for Mei.
"Goodnight." Mei closed the conversation and pulled Yuzu by her ear, guiding her to the bathroom to brush their teeth.
In bed, Yuzu didn't say much. It wasn't like her. The moment Mei decided to ask her what was wrong, Yuzu said: "Dad is amazing."
A thunderstorm of emotions raged in Mei's heart. She went from feeling proud Yuzu viewed her dad as role-model to being terrified of her doing so in the span of five seconds.
She grabbed Yuzu's head in both her hands. "Right now, promise me you won't do anything dangerous for the rest of your life!"
Yuzu was taken aback. "I can't promise that. Crossing the street qualifies as dangerous if you-.."
"You know what I'm talking about!"
Yuzu hugged Mei. "Don't worry. I'm gonna take care of myself, whatever decision I make, I'll run it by you…"
"Yuzu, please, promise me." Mei tears started overflowing "You know I can't resist you. You always get your way…"
"Mei…"
"I know! I know! It's a horrible thing to say, but I couldn't care less. I need you to promise me!"
"I promise I'll stay away from danger as much as I can"
Mei locked Yuzu in her arms as if to keep her from getting away. Shiro's voice echoed through the hallway, followed by Yuki's.
Yuzu and Mei got up and went to their parents' bedroom. They found Ume breastfeeding Shirou and Shou lulling Yuki back sleep. He got out so that her cries don't bother Shiro. Yuzu followed Shou and Mei stayed with Ume.
"Mom," Mei was unsure how to ask the question that was on her mind. "Yuzu wants to follow in dad's footsteps."
"Oh my, he's one lucky man." Ume said softly "Both his daughters look up to him"
"You don't understand. It's too dangerous for her."
"I do understand. She's my daughter before being your wife. I spent so many nights worrying about your father. The last thing I'd want is to worry about her too."
"Did they ever get easier, the nights when you worried about him?"
"The only thing I could do is try to make things easier for him. If Yuzu ever decides to go down that road, that's about the only thing you and I can do, and that includes supporting her decision. As I said earlier, cross the bridges when you get to them."
"Right…"
"Plus your dad won't let her go unless she's prepared. She's talking to him right now, you know?"
Mei jolted out of the room, grabbed Yuzu and shut her up with a kiss. She didn't care what she was saying, she just wanted to get her away from their father.
"She may be your daughter but she's my wife. From now on, any and all conversations between you two will be run by me. Go to your own wife and give her another three or four children. Maybe that'll keep this idiot busy so she doesn't do anything crazy."
Ume has told Shou that Mei was very possessive of Yuzu, but it was the first time he witnessed it.
"Noted." Shou said smiling.