Chapter 12: Sunny with a Chance of Auroras

Five days a week, one channel has the best news coverage anyone could ever ask for. From across the sea or straight from home, one newscaster relentlessly pursues important stories that everyone needs to hear, and tells the full and brutal truth.

Who is that lovely lady on the TV screen?

"This is Kairi Aurora for Rainbow Bridge news, signing off."

"This is Kairi Aurora coming to you live from the middle east, here to bring you new updates on the settling political climate between Iraq and Israel."

"This is Kairi Aurora here with…ha ha ha…! Stop, that tickles…! A…a small puppy farm out in the middle of…HA HA HA…! Q-Quit it!"

For her, it's not just about how important the story is, it's about making sure it's heard without any inclination towards political bias or exploiting tragedy.

"Ratings have just come in, and you guessed it, Kairi Aurora has once again…taken the top spot among news stations."

"Kairi Aurora hits hard and doesn't let up! How DOES she do it?"

"Whenever I feel down, her sunny personality and relentless energy always cheers me up!"

She didn't want to use her family name for the job at first, but her PR manager managed to swing it in a positive direction for her. And Mew gave the thumbs-up too.

And frankly, it's a good tactic for taking the heat off her family due to her popularity.

Because where there's fame, there's always the critics.

Oh god, are there critics.

"Kairi Aurora? She claims to be out there selling the truth to the general masses, so then why don't we know more about her? What dark truths are you hiding from your audience?!"

"She's taking the viewership from the rest of us harder working newscasters. Newsflash! There's more to being a newcaster than having a big pair of knockers!"

"She's not a newscaster! Pffft…! She's just putting out fabrications! LIES! Ha…! Ridiculous…"

However, one mustn't forget that beneath all her hard-hitting news stories is a gal with grit, who doesn't back down from a challenge.

Everytime a critic comes out of the woodwork, either via a podcast, newschannel, or other news site, she's managed to work with her boss to get an interview set up where she tears down their strawman arguments.

"I run a NEWS program, not a biography show. Just because we're on TV doesn't mean we're suddenly not people with lives or families to take care of. I'm sure you wouldn't want to put your own family in danger, so why would you potentially endanger mine just to get one over on me?"

"You're right, Cassie. There IS more to being a newcaster than that. You need to be able to look corruption in the eye and prepare to stake your life on making sure it's exposed, and stopped. You also need to be able to show people hope, that good things ARE happening. Striking a balance. If you really cared about the sanctity of this profession you'd try to understand that instead of dragging me down. But this is a rating's game for you. Outrage, exploitation, that rakes in the views, yeah? Tell me, have you ever heard of that defunct channel, FOX News?"

"Have you ever seen what a lie does to a person? It offers comfort in the moment, sure, but eventually you torment yourself to keep the lie going. And once the torment gets to you, you're never the same person again. Now, I want you to look me dead in the eyes and ask yourself one question: 'Do I LOOK like I'm hurting myself?'"

It's a rough job with the only genuine thanks she receives being from faceless messages in her e-mail, and from her own family.

…Speaking of her family though, Kairi may appear welcoming and energetic on the job, but at home…

"OK…!" She shouted hard enough to rock the house, "Which one of you two filled the fridge with all this excess meat?!"

It's a whole different story.

After restraining herself not to slam the fridge door TOO hard, Mew popped his head around the corner looking mildly frazzled, "W-Wasn't me, I just got home!"

Kairi glared at him and then leaned out to look down the hall, "Serra! I KNOW it was you!"

Serra popped her head out from her room with a dumb, oblivious smile as she answered, "Know it was what…?"

"The meat?!" Kairi's pupils shrank as she repeatedly pointed at the fridge, "How many times do I have to tell you that we can't be overstuffing this with one kind of food? It makes it harder to pull out other stuff!"

Serra flashed a thumbs-up and declared, "Don't worry Moms! I'll just put more meat in my diet to free up space!"

She then retracted into the room causing Kairi to throw her hands down and flip out a little, "NOOOO, that's not…! GAH!"

She threw her head back and ruffled her hair like a startled chicken was running through it.

Mew smiled and tried to play the mediator, "I could eat some more meat too…?"

Kairi immediately stiffened upright and paralyzed him with her glare, "You…!"

Mew threw his hands up and sucked his lips in, stifling a laugh. She held the glare until the irritation made her blink, then let out another groan.

She then retreated to the living room and flopped onto the couch, burying her face under the pillow. Mew innocently waltzed up behind her with his hands behind his back and whistling a tune.

The tune went off-key as he sat down in front of her legs and laid his own legs on the table.

She immediately flipped over and gave him a little kick in the process, then planted her pillow on top of her chest.

"I work an honest week. All I ask is to come home to a normal household, one day, maybe two days..tops! But what do I find…?"

She glared at Mew again, "YOUR DNA slowly asserting further dominance over our daughter!"

Mew grinning really didn't help her, "I mean, she's got MY charm, but I'm pretty sure she got the tomboy-isms from YOU-"

Kairi's right eye twitched as she scowled, "Wanna repeat that, Mew?"

Mew sweated slightly and told her, "I-I meant this in a positive way…"

His incredibly charismatic if not awkward way of trying to help her feel better managed to put her back in neutral, where she stuffed the pillow on top of her face and groaned, "Uuuugh…I yelled at her again, didn't I…?"

Mew just crossed his arms and let her have a go at herself for a bit.

She then slid the pillow off and murmured, "Mew, are you SURE we're handling this ok?"

"Hey, the house is still standing, right?" Mew said with a smile.

"By some miracle of miracles, yes…" Kairi grumbled under her breath, "Haaa…"

Leo, bless his soul, walked into the room and took that sigh as his cue to intervene, "Mom, do you want me to get the foot massager?"

Kairi threw up a few of her fingers, "And a scented candle…or two…three…"

"I'll get right on that." He replied, leaving the room.

Kairi dropped her arm off the couch and remarked, "...At least one of them's turned out alright."

"Yeah see now, Leo, he takes more after you, definitely." Mew pointed out, causing Kairi to swipe the pillow right off with a massive blush covering her face.

Mew flipped out however, worrying he was in trouble.

But Kairi instead whimpered happily, "T-Thanks…"

After he knew he was safe, Mew crossed his arms back up and whispered, "We have to face it, Kairi, our kids are now as old as we were when we first met."

Kairi's happiness immediately dipped into a scowl and scoff combo, "GEE. THANKS. Remind me I'm getting older, why don't you…?"

"Hey, hey now. You still look GREAT." Mew said.

She smiled with a brow raised and then gently kicked his thigh, making him chuckle.

He then remarked, "Point is, mistakes are gonna happen no matter how good of parents we were to them. We just have to be ready to bail them out if necessary."

Kairi looked off to the side and remarked, "Sometimes I feel like I'm not enough of an influence in their lives…"

Mew glanced around the corner real quick and then looked at her and whispered, "Leo turns on the news first thing whenever he comes home. And Serra's always happy to see you."

Kairi scoffed, "Serra's always happy to see everyone."

"Does it matter?" Mew remarked.

Kairi rolled her eyes back and forth a few times and sighed, "Nooo, I guess not…"

"Fine ok, I'll admit you have a point, but…You know."

Mew nodded, "Relax. We're not going to make that mistake again."

The conversation had to stop there as Leo returned with the battery powered foot messenger and a few scented candles.

"Anything else, mom?" Leo wondered.

"Yeah…after I'm done, you want to help me figure out what to do with all that damn meat?" Kairi said, nudging her head at the fridge.

"Sure thing." Leo nodded, and then left the room.

Kairi sank into a state of bliss as the massager gyrated it's probes across all her stiff nerves, "Oh FUCK…! This was the best purchase we ever made…"

Mew leaned in and gave her shoulders a deep tissue massage. With a proud smile on her face, she looked him in the eyes and said, "Mew Whiter, if there's anything I can say about you…you've always been good with your fingers."

The two of them blushed at the same time and with a lightning fast tongue she lashed out, "G-Get your mind out of the gutter!"

"Ok-ok!" Mew said, obviously not guilty of anything, but why take the risk right?

Admittedly, she instantly regretted that he left mid-massage, and slapped her hands over her face and groaned, "Why do I still act this way…? Uuuuugh…"

It's all a cycle.

First she does research on some good stories to pursue, usually it's at night after she's finished off her program for the day or when she's at home.

Then there's registering a flight across one or two locations per week, which is a MASSIVE pain in the ass, seriously!

And finally she has to fly to these locations, which is so bad she's considered breaking the rules to just start flying there herself on multiple occasions.

Even if she has any energy left over for herself, coming home tends to punch the last bit of wind out of her sails.

Either it's because of her daughter, or her husband, or the both of them.

She hasn't even had an opportunity to visit her nieces and nephews since they came back into town, but from the sounds of things the Dark kids have changed a LOT. Damn it Alura…

Another weekend blows by and she says goodbye to her kids, accepting a kiss from Mew as a farewell charm before she gets on the plane.

Fortunately, this time Leo took a moment to download some new lo-fi music onto her phone to help her relax.

She hugged the phone against her chest as she got situated on the plane and murmured, "Thank you thank you thank you, Leo…"

This was gonna be a ballbuster of a flight. She was heading to France to report on the inauguration of a new minister who allegedly will be working closely with Joe Dark in the future.

Oh wait, PRESIDENT Dark. No matter how many times she repeats that in her head, it still sounds off…

Not like she ever disliked the guy. Frankly, she never got to have a history with him like her husband and his brothers did.

But you look at him and you don't immediately think "President"...Or "Governor"...Or "Mayor", heck you really don't see him in any leadership role.

However, if there's one thing her travels have shown her, it's that his time in the office has had an impact on the state of the world.

That she can deliver stories leaning more towards hopeful than tragic is one sign, but she also tends to walk down cleaner, friendlier streets and has only had to fight off an ambush a few times.

Still, people have their doubts. It's only natural rumors would reach her ears eventually.

She aspires to eventually sit him down for an interview so the people of the world can get the unvarnished truth about what he's setting out to achieve. But the one time she managed to reach him he stated: "We're family, Kairi. There's going to be bias at play that even you can't control."

It's aggravating but he's right. She'll keep trying anyway though. She's seen what happens when the truth is left unheard…

Musing about life to the beat of lo-fi made the sore as hell flight go by quicker.

Then the post-flight routine went as follows: Find her luggage, take the taxi to the hotel, unwind on the bed, call Mew, call Leo, call Lunis JUST to be extra cautious…hover over Maria's phone number…and then call her manager to let her know she arrived safely.

Filming starts tomorrow so she has just a little bit of time to fool around.

It's not her first time in France, but this WILL be her first time trying out French cuisine, she can be damn sure of that.

She downloads a few menus on her phone and takes some time scrolling through them.

Before she knows it her eyelids bob shut, and thrust open to the sight of European grade sunlight flashing her eyes.

"Oh goddamn…" Now hungry and (begrudgingly) well-rested, she forced herself through a hotel breakfast of pancakes and eggs and then put on her work jacket to get to where she needs to be.

The crew has once again outdid themselves with the set up. So much young talent getting a chance to strut their stuff…So…so much young talent…

Kairi briefly ponders how badly she'll be acting about her age later down the road, and then slaps herself mentally to get on track for the day.

With how easily she's able to slot into the "Kairi Aurora" persona she wonders why she's never considered a career in acting.

…Then she recalls what fame did to Alura and drops the subject immediately.

Despite a rough morning, the first news report of the day goes by swimmingly. She considers it some of her best work.

And that just ends up annoying her when she's back to being alone.

"I can control myself just fine at work, but at home? Noooooo, I just got to be a BITCH to my family…! Uuuugh…!"

The frustration lasted about as long as it took for the scent of fresh French cuisine to enter her nose.

"Oh god…" She let a little drizzle out of her mouth and then sucked it back in.

With work over for now she left her coat back at the hotel and wandered the town in a ribbed sleeveless shirt and jeans with a tank top underneath to keep her chest unexposed.

She started running then slowed down upon approaching the restaurant. And through the vaguest recollection of last night, knew exactly what to order: Fried snails.

Yeah yeah, how original, she'd say to you mockingly if you pointed it out.

But it's not about the originality, it's about the feeling of gratification for finally reaching out and trying something new.

She got a nice outdoor table and a bottle of Orangina, strawberry flavored. Heh heh…

Kind of made her feel a little sad though, and as she stared at the empty seat across from her she imagined Mew's shadow sitting there and talking with her.

She had flashes to their honeymoon 17 years ago. A simple boat ride through the Grand Canal of Italy, timed to a fireworks festival, enjoying the greatest pizza she ever had.

They were laughing, smiling, and getting drunk on love.

"Haaa…You cheesy goofball…" She smiled fondly.

Being a newcaster was a lonely job at times. She struggled to make genuine friends out of her crew, and it kept taking her away from her family.

"HEEEEEEY!"

Emphasis on, "at times".

That cheery, spot-on-timing greeting could've only come from one mouth.

Kairi looked over her shoulder with mild surprise and relief at her tall, blonde sister Shina waving out from the middle of the crowd.

Over the years she's taken after her younger sister by cutting her hair shorter, and has gotten a little bolder in the kinds of tops she wears. Right now she's sporting an off-shoulder blue shirt with ruffles on the sleeves and thick black straps holding up her chest. She also has black jeans on and white shoes.

She's taken a liking to this headband that makes it look like her hair is braided, and enjoys a golden piercing on her ear every now and then. This time being a "now" moment.

And with her came their mom Auris, still as ageless and stunning as ever. No changes to her hair, thank god, but now when she comes to visit she does so wearing a black bodysuit over everything that wasn't her hands or feet. But she covers that up with an aquamarine off-shoulder top of her own, with more frills on the sleeves, and tight dark purple denim.

She still has to be safe going out in public. Her Clairvoyance may be gone, but the curse of the Anti-Genesis Theorem lives eternal.

Yet currently she wears a wide and relaxed smile, bringing Kairi untold levels of relief.

Not that she gets to enjoy it long before Shina decides to come sprinting over to hug her.

Kairi gets up and lets her go through with it, letting her own smile grow as Shina's hold gets tighter and tighter.

"How's my sis doing?"

"B-Better, now that you've shown up!" Once Shina let her go, Kairi grabbed her by the arms and looked her over, "I had my doubts, but that haircut really does look good on you, Shina."

"Awww, you charmer…!" Shina closed her eyes and blushed.

By then Auris strolled up between them and sniffed the air, "Cooked snails? About time you got to try French cuisine, honey."

"Right?!" Kairi blurted out in agreement, and then feeling a little awkward she wandered towards the table, "I-I wish you had found me sooner, I would've ordered stuff for you."

Auris closed her eyes and had a soothing chuckle, "Your sister had to finish a long match against a very stubborn opponent."

Shina commented on the matter like she had fought a harrowing battle, "It was a grueling brawl, but eventually IceWarSlayer gave up…For now. I'm sure when I get home he'll have sent another message within the character limit telling me 'I suck' and 'Stop spamming that move'. Heh heh heh…!"

The three then shared the same table, with Shina managing to use some fluent French to impress the waiter when she made her order.

Auris resigned to having whatever she was going to. Nothing particularly interested her, a bane of a life long lived, but just being able to experience this moment was enough to keep that smile on her face.

"Sooooo…" Shina folded her hands under her chin, "Great job, news girl! Another banger story!"

Kairi blushed, "We're not done yet though. Honestly…the stressful part hasn't happened yet."

Auris enjoyed the taste of coffee then remarked, "An interview with the minister?"

"Ugh, just let the stress take me if that happens. No, we're being invited into the palace to cover the inauguration party."

Shina cooed in delight, "Ooooooh, sounds fancy. I bet the food will be primo!"

Kairi stifled a chuckle, "Yeeeah, but I'm gonna hold back. Trying to watch my weight and all…"

Shina remarked, "I'll say! That shirt looks slimming on you!"

Kairi recoiled with an embarrassed teeth grit. She then settled down right as her dish came out.

Steamy, salty, with a slightly grotesque look to it. Covered in a sauce, and garnished with some greens.

It needed to cool down a bit, so while poking the meat with her folk she remarked, "I could secure you guys an invite if you want."

Auris closed her eyes and hummed, "I've never had the chance to be treated like royalty. But admittedly, this party sounds more self-flagellating than anything sincere."

Shina had a less stuffy answer, "Can't. Got to tutor some kids later. Thanks though!"

Kairi shrugged, "Was worth a shot. Speaking of, how's that going, sis?"

"A little troublesome at times, but when you're as young at heart as MOI, you get the reins on quickly." Shina lifted her head up proudly, causing Kairi to smile.

Auris then finished her coffee with a thick sigh of comfort, "And ALSO speaking of…how are the kids doing? I was considering dropping by for a visit next week."

Kairi turned her head with a dejected scowl, "Ehhhh…"

"Ruh roh," Shina poked her fingers into Kairi's mouth and helped reset her mood and posture, "Tell your big sis what's wrong."

Kairi instead turned to her mom and blurted out, "Did you ever get the urge to slap one of your kids?"

Auris looked both surprised and disappointed, "Hmmm, can't say I did…Is it that bad with Serra?"

"I-I don't know what it is, really…!" Kairi grunted in frustration, "She's taking after Mew and when I think about what that means I know I don't want to go through that crap again!"

Shina calmly entered the conversation, "But sis, Mew has shown that he's a very loyal husband and father. Who's to say Serra won't do the same?"

After a short pause, Shina blinked a few times and giggled, "Just…reverse the gender roles though."

Kairi ended up smiling fondly as she looked up at the sky, "Sometimes, Mew is the sweetest and most tender loving husband in the world."

"Awwwww-" Both her relatives remarked.

Only for Kairi to slam her hands down with her eyes wide with primal fury, "Other times he acts like the leader of the Goons!"

Auris stared at her with her firm, warrior gaze and whispered, "Funny. I recall a certain problem child running around Sancturia years ago."

"T-That…" Kairi turned the other way, crossed her arms and grumbled, "That's different, I was going through…stuff."

"The apple doth not fall far from the tree, sis." Shina said softly.

With Auris staring harder, Kairi dug her fingers in and groaned, "Uuuugh, you guys think so too…"

Shina and Auris said in sync, "Mew?"

"...Yes," Kairi turned and rolled her eyes, "Look, I am NOT a bad mother. Leo turned out good…!"

Auris hummed to herself for an uncomfortably long time, "Equating responsibility to happiness isn't always true."

Kairi flipped with genuine worry in her voice, "Y-You don't think Leo's unhappy is he…?"

Shina waved her hands down and her whispering really soothed her soul, "Sis, relax. Mom's just saying that Serra is happy the way she is, so ya shouldn't try to make her into someone else."

Auris closed her eyes and nodded, "It's not a condemnation of your character, honey. Honestly, I am delighted that you're worried about your kids."

Shina chimed in, "But maaaaybe dial it back a bit? You're in France, the city of loooove! So lay back and love yourself a little!"

Kairi laughed at her flowery language and then smiled, "Haaaa, maybe you're right. If I keep stressing about this I'm gonna be wrinkly before my 40s."

"That WOULD be impressive by Aurian standards." Auris joked with a jolly laugh.

Shina then pointed at the table, "Also, your meal is getting cold."

"Ack!" Kairi dug into the snails with her fork and chomped down.

"Ooooh yeah. Oui oui…"

Around this time Auris and Shina's meals arrived, a couple of fancy noodle dishes.

The three relaxed and whatever subjects Kairi had been stressing over felt unimportant among family.

Shina paused during the meal to remark, "Hey sis, have you run into Gabe on your travels?"

Kairi popped her fork out of her drooling mouth and remarked, "Not since last winter, why?"

"Oh, I've been wanting to ask him about old Auruan culture since a kid was curious. But you know…"

Kairi sighed, "He could stand to have a phone at the bare minimum."

Auris smiled, "I wish I knew about this sooner. We just met up for lunch on a whim last week in China. He was helping out in the farmlands to plant rice."

"That's our wandering samurai…" Kairi said fondly.

Auris nodded, "Undoubtedly, he's moved on elsewhere by now. You may have luck scouring China."

Shina shook her head, "China's too big! I'll just ask him later."

She then turned to Kairi and wondered, "Soooo, how long until the party?"

"Uhhh, few hours tops?" Kairi said while scrambling to check her phone.

"Then we are spending that time exploring the sights!" Shina declared.

"S-Sure. Mom?" Kair glanced in her direction.

Auris closed her eyes, "I'll go my own way, you enjoy yourselves."

After finishing their meals, the two sisters walked over to enjoy the sights.

Meanwhile Auris looked up at the sky and muttered, "It's any wonder these children ended up alright with me as their mother. But you wouldn't say that, would you Sarajin?"

Next Time: Art and Interpretation