This is the final chapter! It acts like an epilogue for all the characters and you get to see what everyone's been up to. This is probably one of my most uplifting chapters. I hope you guys will enjoy this final chapter. My first chapter was named reentrance so this means exit. The only two chapters out of the story that are not from science.
exit
Two years after the proposal, Tsugumi and Daryl married in a quiet, small ceremony and finally became Daryl Yan and Tsugumi Yan. After a nice honeymoon in Hawaii, they settled down in his mansion to finally start their lives together. Daryl went back to the military, not as a soldier, but as their chief Endlave engineer. He also reopened his coffee shop because he always liked running the cafe and having a safe haven to get away from things. Maybe when he retires from the military, he can spend his days running the place. Tsugumi became a really great teacher at her high school and she even established a hacking club to participate in hackathons. Of course, her star student and member was Ryo Shinomiya.
Their married life, beautiful and quiet, was soon disrupted when Tsugumi felt a lurch in her stomach one morning. Before she knew it, she was pregnant with a little baby girl! Their baby inherited both Tsugumi's violet eyes so she often utilized her gemstone eyes to melt people's hearts. She was also a small child, inheriting Tsugumi's tiny frame, as she weighed in at six pounds. But surprisingly, she inherited Daryl's blonde hair, which was now a small tuft on the top of her head. The newborn delightfully tortured her parents while on their leave. Yet she still won her parents' hearts as she inherited Tsugumi's cuteness. Even though taking care of a child was rough, they were glad that she came into their lives.
Daryl and Tsugumi spent their morning making breakfast and feeding their little girl. Daryl took the bottle and gently placed the tip into her mouth. "Rowa is very quiet this morning."
"She's probably tired. Kept us up all night." Tsugumi planted a kiss on her husband's forehead. "I have to drop off some work to my substitute teacher before going to the party. Think you can handle her for a few hours before the party?"
"I've handled worse things. I nearly died because of them. I think I can handle this." Daryl returned the kiss by planting a sweet one on his wife's lips. "Besides, Rowa only gets moody around you. She's definitely her daddy's girl."
"Oh shut up Sprout!" Tsugumi stuck her tongue out. He sure liked teasing her. She now regretted letting Daryl name their baby girl.
"I love you too, Runt."
Tsugumi blushed and quickly stood up. She couldn't believe he still had an effect on her like that! Whenever she was with her husband, she always felt like a little teenage girl again. Tsugumi gathered up her stuff and began to head out. "I gotta go. I don't want to keep her waiting."
"Tsugumi." Daryl stood up and planted a deep kiss on her lips. "Have fun. You deserve it."
"Right!" Tsugumi gave back her trademark cheeky smile. "Have fun with little Rowa!" And she left for some asylum from her hectic little daughter.
Daryl went back to bottle feeding his little baby girl. He picked up caring for a baby just by observing Tsugumi doing it. After a few weeks of practice, he got a good idea of how to properly feed a baby, change her diapers, and keep her entertained. His way of entertaining Rowa was going through their photo frames and albums and telling his baby the stories behind each snapshot of their life.
The first photo he always started with was, of course, his and Tsugumi's giant wedding portrait that hung above their TV. The wedding was lovely. Tsugumi was dressed in a beautiful white and lacy gown and Daryl in his best suit. Since Daryl didn't have many male friends, he made Jessica his best woman and forced her to wear a black suit. Tsugumi absolutely made her best friend, Ayase, her maid of honor. Ayase looked very beautiful in her simple red gown. Everyone from the military to school coworkers to friends from school attended the wedding.
In fact, Daryl had a funny story from the wedding.
The happy newlyweds made their way around the tables to celebrate the wedding. Daryl and Tsugumi finally made it to the table that sat their closest friends. Jessica, Ayase, Yahiro, Kanon, Hare, and Ryo shared a table. Hare and Ryo would have been at the kid's table yet Ayase insisted on keeping her kid's close to her.
"Congratulations Tsugumi!" Ayase cheered.
"Cheers everyone! We're going to party it up tonight!" Tsugumi loudly announced as she waved her wine glass in the air.
"No. We're not." Daryl announced back. "Excuse her. She's a little tipsy."
"No I'm not!" Tsugumi slurred back.
"And now she's drunk…"
"Hey Jessie!" Tsugumi suddenly wrapped her arms around Jessica. "Remember that cadet back when we were in the military together? He's at my wedding and I notice he's been staring at you aaaaalllll night."
Jessica gulped on her wine, glanced off to the side, and blushed. Daryl also noticed the former cadet, now soldier, staring at his former Junior Intel Officer, now published author and sister he should be protecting from any pervy eyes. So he took the initiative, drew out his best guns, literally as he allowed firearms in the wedding, and stood right in the path of the soldier's eyes. The poor soldier seemed to notice and averted his eyes, though the blush remained on his cheeks.
"And Aya-neeeeee!" Tsugumi went to her next victim. "My coworker Hamashi has this huuuuge crush on you! I think you two should hook up!"
"Tsugumi!" Ayase gasped.
This got Ryo's attention as Hamashi-sensei was his literature teacher. And that teacher was the bane to his existence as his grades were dropping his GPA. He simply didn't understand books and words, only numbers and mechanics. And if that teacher was crushing on Ayase, that made Hamashi-sensei his new mortal enemy. Ryo glared at the literature teacher sitting at the teacher's table. There's no way he's letting that guy near his mom!
"This is so awkward…"
"Aya-neeee…"
"Tsugumi! You had too much to drink! How much did you drink? Five shots!?"
"I'm watching you…"
"Daryl! Knock it off! I don't need you to protect me anymore!"
"Yes you do! Now where's my handgun?"
"Aren't you glad I dragged you away from that mess?"
And that's how Tsugumi ended up passed out on Ayase's lap, Ryo guarding over them like a watchdog, Jessica trying to prevent a potential murder, Yahiro and Kanon deciding to go dance to avoid the explosion that was going to happen, and poor Hare awkwardly eating her dinner.
Rowa giggled and squealed. That's why he always started with that story. It made her smile with delight.
Daryl grabbed a photo album and turned to one of the first photos he and Tsugumi put into it. This album was meant to capture their moments with friends and family. Everyone they knew and loved went into this album, firmly immortalizing their bonds.
Daryl pointed towards a picture of Hare graduating out of high school. There was also a picture of Jessica reenacting her graduation since Daryl missed her actual ceremony for being on vacation. Though the young woman was in a good mood so she got all dressed up in her black gown and cap, holding her degree, with a bouquet of white flowers. She was smiling brightly and Daryl had his arm around her while smiling. Though it seems she and Daryl took the picture flawlessly, they were actually having trouble cooperating to take one picture. "Here's my bratty sister finally all grown up."
Jessica tried her best to keep her cap from slipping off whilst holding her English Literature degree and bouquet of flowers. Daryl stood off by her side, amused by her fumbling.
"Need help?"
"I'm good. Thanks." Jessica finally got her stuff together. "Ready!"
"Aye!" Tsugumi held her camera up. "One, two, three...Smile!"
Click! At that point, Daryl pushed the bouquet of flowers into Jessica's face, causing her to sneeze profusely as the picture was taken. Jessica glared at him. That jerk!
"Hey! I saw you!" Tsugumi scolded him. "Don't tease her like that. It's already bad enough that you missed her special day! We're going to do this again!"
"Okay!" Jessica called back, but a glint graced her glasses.
"One, two, three...Smile!"
Jessica buried her heel into Daryl's shoe, causing him to yelp in pain while the picture was being taken. Payback was a bitch.
"Hey! That hurt!"
"You started it!"
Tsugumi merely kept a straight face as she clicked on and on, documenting their little spat. But in the end, she managed to get the both of them to stop fighting and take a proper picture.
"I can't believe that girl is an author now. She has a book signing before this party."
Rowa tilted her head and giggled some more. She doesn't understand, but in the future, she will.
Daryl then went over to the second graduation photo. Hare wore her red uniform and she held her diploma proudly in her hands as she knelt down for the picture. She stood with her little makeshift family that consisted of Ryo scowling as usual, Ayase smiling brightly as she draped her arm around her college bound daughter, and Tsugumi cheerfully gleaming from the back. Daryl remembered that he took this photo and it was possibly the sweetest moment for Ayase's family.
"Hare-chan! I'm so proud of you!" Tsugumi hugged her niece. "So, where are you heading for college?"
"I'm going to study nursing at Tokyo University." Hare said with a small smile.
"I knew you would get in." Jessica patted the girl's head. "Hey I can give you a special tour of the school campus. As an alumni of Tokyo University, I'll teach you everything there is to know."
"Thank you Jessica!"
Ryo scanned the crowd as if he was trying to watch for a predator. Ayase noticed this strange behavior from her son and she wheeled up to the boy. He finished his first year of high school and it seems like he didn't want to be seen at the school premises. That meant he was getting bullied again.
"Ryo-chan? Is there a problem?"
Ryo blushed as Ayase stared up at him. "Nothing's wrong…"
"You can't hide anything from me. I'm your mother."
He refused to answer so Ayase sideswiped her son with the leg of her wheelchair. Ryo fell down and landed on his butt, causing a group of guys to snicker.
"So it's them huh?" Ayase mused. "You're getting bullied again, aren't you?"
Ryo turned his head. "I can handle them. It's whatever."
Ayase frowned and using her immense upper strength, she lifted Ryo back up. She was concerned that he wasn't going to fit in again and be tortured by bullies. She brushed away the dirt that got on his clothes. "Who are they?"
"Mom, you're not going to threaten them with Beine."
"I promise I won't. Now tell me."
"They're a bunch of guys who got rejected by Hare. They take it out on me because I'm her brother."
"Huh...okay." Ayase took Ryo away. "Look kid, those boys are nothing to you. You just have to make some friends. Develop a support system. That kind of thing. High school is a fun and enriching experience so don't let a bunch of bad apples get you down."
"I don't know if anyone even wants to be friends with me…"
"You will never know unless you get yourself out there to make friends. Look at all of us. You, me, your sister, Tsugumi, Daryl, and Jessica are literally one big family. None of us are related by blood, but we started out as friends. In fact, we really started out as enemies. It just takes time." Ayase softly smiled as she rubbed her son's head, earning a blush and an embarrassed scowl from him. "Now...as for your bullies...Daryl! Can you come over here?"
"Mom! You said you weren't going to do anything!"
"I'm not. He is." Ayase addressed Daryl as he came over. "Daryl, those boys are bullying my son. Can you do something about it?"
"Heh." Daryl shot a look at Ryo. "Watch and learn kid."
Daryl walked up to the boys and their eyes just lit up.
"Wow! You're the former Major General! You're so cool!"
"You piloted Steiner 2.0 during the Apocalypse incident! I'm joining the military next year and I want to be just like you! And I really want to use one of your specialized Endlaves!"
"Thanks kids. But you got a lot to learn if you want to join the high ranks of the military. I'm sure you guys will survive."
"Wow thanks Major General Yan! But what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be building the new Endlave everyone's talking about?"
"I'm here because my niece-in-law is graduating today." Daryl pointed out an unsuspecting Hare, which definitely surprised most of the boys as they did not realize the girl they were pining after was related to their idol.
"Actually, my nephew-in-law is planning to join the military when he graduates. He's the boy next to his mother, the woman in the wheelchair and GHQ's one and only Endlave pilot instructor. She fought alongside me that day actually and she is one of the best fighters in the field. You'll have a great teacher next year." He saw that the boys' jaws were dropping at each second as they tried to take in all the badass in one family. It was time for finishing kill. "And my nephew-in-law has been piloting Endlaves ever since he was ten years old. I fought against him a few times and he nearly beat me once. He's going to be a fine edition to the military. He probably will surpass me."
The boys seemed to now cower as they realized the boy they've been bullying was actually related to two of the best Endlave pilots in Japan and that he already piloted those machines. He nearly beat Daryl! The computer science nerd was already a trained soldier!
"Anyways, time to go back to my family. Study hard!" Daryl walked back to Ayase and Ryo. "You're welcome."
"Thank you!" Ayase nudged Ryo. "Say thank you."
Ryo pouted and muttered, "Thanks."
Ryo will always treat him with the utmost disrespect, no matter what Daryl did for him. Then again, he had good reasons so Daryl usually kept silent. Maybe one day, that boy will fully forgive him. Maybe the new Endlave he's working on now will change his mind… It's his graduation present after all.
"Guys! Let's take a picture together!" Hare called out.
"Yeah sis, we heard." Ryo wheeled Ayase to her and stood for the photo. "Hey Mom, can our aunt join us?"
"Yes! Aunt Tsugumi! Join us!" Hare waved over Tsugumi.
"Me? Really?" Tsugumi asked, pointing to herself.
"Get over here!" Ayase waved over her best friend, practically her sister, over.
"Alright Aya-nee!" She hopped over to her family. They were a huge mess before. But they now came together and it was the happiest little family she could have. For that, Tsugumi smiled brightly for the camera.
"Your mother is really her cutest when she smiles like that."
Daryl flipped over the page of the album. The pictures illustrated Daryl and Ayase at their work. One photo even had Daryl in mid-yelling of Ayase because she busted her Beine right after he just finished upgrades.
"I can't believe you broke Beine like that! I legit just put in those upgrades yesterday!" Daryl yelled, flames fuming from his head. "That was a month's work! Wasted!"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Ayase pleaded, hands together begging for forgiveness.
He had a good reason to be pissed. Even then, there was no way he could stay mad at her for long. It's funny how these two mortal enemies managed to be good friends.
Another photo was Tsugumi and Ayase, smiling proudly in their respective uniforms. Ayase was in her red and black plug suit while Tsugumi wore her black and grey suit. Tsugumi was hugging her best friend while giving out a peace sign. Ayase simply smiled, winking into the camera. These two will never change. According to Daryl, they still acted like they were teenagers again every time they come together. They were definitely each other's best friends.
He found a whole page of Ryo winning his first hackathon. He held up his trophy while Tsugumi was hugging him and smiling. She was really proud of her student and nephew for her to dedicate a whole page to him. Daryl wanted to ruin this page by putting his own photo of Ryo in there: a photo of Ryo working part time in his cafe. The boy wanted some extra money so he had to work for it. He looked hilariously cute in a barista outfit.
He flipped through photos of people from the military and their other friends. They had a photo of Shibungi stepping down from his term as president. There was a grand ceremony and a great after-party. Now the man spends his days working with young children orphaned by Japan's Apocalypse wars. Argo remained in the military and he took over Daryl's rank. He is now the current Major General of GHQ. They had a photo of him accepting the new rank from Daryl himself. Daryl continued flipping through the pages. He found the photo of Yahiro and Kanon renewing their vows in front of the statue of Shu and Inori. Now that was a good day. Shu and Inori must have been proudly watching from heaven.
Finally, he got to the photo he always used to end story time. It was the birth of their daughter Rowa. During their second anniversary, Tsugumi unexpectedly fell pregnant with her. They gave birth to a runt of a baby in Tokyo Hospital. They had a photo of Tsugumi, tired and weak, holding onto her infant and smiling as bright as always. The next photo was Rowa's grandmother and Daryl's mother holding onto the newborn infant.
"Rowa, one day we'll travel to America so you can visit your grandmother."
"Congratulations Tsugumi," Ayase said as she finished taking Tsugumi's photo. She didn't know why her best friend insisted on getting a picture while she looked like crap. Ayase poked the soft cheeks of the baby. "She's so cute! What's her name?"
"Her name is Rowa. Daryl really wanted to name her after his friend." Tsugumi kissed her little baby. "I think it's a lovely name."
"It is...you're going to let me babysit sometimes right? I already have two kids so a third won't be too bad!"
"Sure!" Tsugumi smirked.
"Not if Jessica spoils our kid first." Daryl said as he walked in. He came back with some fruits and water. "Ever since I told her I named our kid after her father, she won't stop with the presents."
"You have to admit. The presents are helpful." Tsugumi glanced over behind her husband, where she could clearly see her mother-in-law. "Marie! You're here."
"Hello Tsugumi-chan. I just want to see my little granddaughter." The old woman smiled. She was a short woman with short blond hair and a frail frame. She had such trouble walking that Daryl had to help his mother into a seat. "Tsugumi-chan, can I hold her?"
"Of course!" Tsugumi handed her baby to Daryl who handed her to Marie.
The old woman gently held onto the infant, brought her close to her face, and laid a kiss on Rowa's forehead. The baby moved slightly, but she remained asleep. "Daryl, you married a fine woman and now, I have such an adorable granddaughter."
Daryl managed to reply back. "Thank you...Mother…"
His mother, Marie, was probably the sweetest mom ever and he now wished he caught up with her many years ago. Once he visited her in New York City, she collapsed in a heap and cried into her son's lap. She was relieved he was safe. And she couldn't help but apologize over and over again for sending him away. She didn't have enough money to take care of him herself. So she sent him to his father with a letter and a birth certificate with hopes that one day, she could make enough money to bring her son back. Although it was gradual and slow, the mother and son bond was starting to mend itself.
Daryl glanced up at the clock and realized that they were going to be late! He quickly got out the stroller and strapped Rowa into her seat. "We're late! The runt's going to kill me!"
He ran to the car, put Rowa into the baby seat, jumped into the driver's seat, and quickly drove as fast as he can to the party location. Good thing the birthday girl wanted to hold her party at his cafe so he knew the fastest way there. He managed to get there before the party started, but not before his only employee caught him late.
Ryo was smirking as he saw Daryl hurriedly run into the shop. "You're late Boss."
"I know. I know." Daryl carried Rowa in his arms. "Did I miss the cake cutting?"
"I haven't even brought it out." Ryo lifted up a circular cake in his hands. It was chocolate and topped with strawberries. There were a good number of candles on it.
"Light it up. We might as well walk in with an entrance." Daryl ordered. He finally walked out with Ryo as everyone was singing 'Happy Birthday' much to the surprise of a lot of people.
"Hey! He made it!" Tsugumi piped up.
"Heh. Took you long enough." Jessica said with a knowing smirk.
Daryl ignored her and went straight to the birthday girl. "Happy Birthday Hare. Here, you can hold Rowa as your present."
"Umm…" Hare didn't know what to say, but she melted when Rowa appeared in her arms. "Aww! She's so cute! She's grown so much!"
"Hare-chan! Let the godmother hold her too!" Ayase squealed as she joined her daughter on cooing over little Rowa.
Daryl went to Tsugumi and planted a light kiss on her lips. He hugged on his little wife as they observed the party. "So how was your break?"
"It was relaxing. I needed it! How was taking care of Rowa?"
"She's a good girl as always."
"That's good."
And they both gazed off at the lively party happening before them. Everyone was here. Shibungi, Argo, Yahiro, Kanon, Jessica, Ryo, Ayase, Funell and his wife and kids, and finally, the birthday girl Hare. They would always come together to celebrate her birthday because it was also the day they would remember Shu and Inori. It was now a tradition. Because of those two, none of these people would be here. So after celebrating Hare's birthday, they would travel together to the memorial statue to pay their respects. It was an important day for everyone.
But in the end, everyone was happy for the blessings given by Shu and Inori. Jessica found peace with her father. Ayase became a family with Hare and Ryo, both whom she loved dearly and they loved her back even more so. Shibungi and Argo were enjoying their lives. Yahiro and Kanon were happy together now that the world was calm. Finally, Tsugumi and Daryl were together as a family and they have a beautiful little girl. They all thanked those two for impacting their lives so much.
And so, they all got their happy ending.
Fin
Everyone lives happily ever after! Yay! Everyone gets to live a fulfilling life as they should with all the crap that went down. I especially love Ayase, Hare, and Ryo little family unit. They are so cute together! Ryo is such a mama's boy with the way he acts around Ayase. Hare is possibly the best Angel I created. Daryl being overprotective over Jessica is just a gag, but I think it fits with his character. I also get to write random gunfights which are hilarious. And Rowa is actually a name even though I just subtracted a letter from Rowan. Rowa means 'lovely' in Arabic and I think it's a fitting name for a child between Tsugumi and Daryl.
Anyways, I would like to thank everyone for sticking around the long hiatuses and long waiting between chapters. But I've finally finished this story and I'm ready to move onto new material. I'm glad I've written this story and I've made and worked with such wonderful characters. I love all my readers that stuck around till the very end to read this story. Thank you everyone! With that, KyraX signing out!