A/N: A surprise set of characters return in this chapter. I was cutting it close but I made it: three chapters a month.
November 23rd, 2045
Times Square, New York City
"Finally, we got a parking spot," the cab driver tells the passengers. "Well, here we go. That'll be twenty dollars."
Knight Yagami reaches into his wallet and pulls out $20. "Keep the change; it's only fair since you're working on a holiday."
"I don't mind," the cabbie shrugs, "but thanks a lot."
Knight exits the vehicle and waits for his family to leave. "Take care of yourself."
"No problem."
Knight waves the cabbie off before turning to his family. "Iris, Rain, ArchAngel, Yuri, we're here, we're here, in America."
"Back in America," Rain drones.
Knight nods. "Exactly." He looks over. "And look, the parade is just about to start. Don't worry guys; I'm paying for any souvenirs you want."
"I'll take Kira's souvenirs," Archer raises his hand eagerly. "Please?"
"We'll see," Knight shrugs. "Remember, speak English; we're in a different country and must immerse ourselves."
"Herro. Sorry," Archer speaks in English, putting on an exaggerated Japanese accent, "my Engrish is not so good."
Knight smiles. "Perfect," he says in sweet English. "Perfect, son."
Iris pats her twin sons on the head. "Don't worry, we can still converse in Japanese when it's just the six of us."
Kuroki steps forward. "Thanks for inviting me along." She looks around, watching the crowd of Yankees gathering around the streets, the parade about to start soon. "You're not worried about any 'work' back home?"
"It's okay," Knight assures them, "I already made 'schedules' for my 'clients' so they'll be covered for the next three weeks."
"Just making sure."
"Just in case, I brought a piece of my… 'business cards' in case of emergencies."
Archer raises his hand, switching back to Japanese. "Any chance I can write down on your 'business card'?"
Knight holds up his wrist, stroking his watch. "Not today, son. Today is about vacation, okay, vacation."
Gilth and Masi materialize behind the family. Gilth looks at the great city of the Big Apple and sighs heavily. "Ahh, America."
"Feels good to be back," Masi says, "and under better circumstances. Remember when we took a trip to America, Gilth, in our human years?" She hugs Gilth tightly.
If Gilth had visible eyes to roll, he would've rolled them. Instead, he simply puts up with the fact that Masi is cuddling with him again.
"It wasn't much of a trip, Masi," he tries to tell her but he can tell she isn't paying attention.
"So, what do you guys want to see first?" Knight asks in English.
"Ice cream shop," Rain answers.
"Toys," Angel goes next.
"MMA," Archer yells with a smile.
"I think MMA might be a little too expensive and the tickets are all sold out," Knight tries to reason, "but I'm sure we'll figure something out. First, let's walk around the town, and immerse ourselves in Yankee culture."
"I guess," Archer sighs heavily. "I want to see people hurting each other."
"Untroubling childlike behavior." Iris rubs her son's head. "Come on, think about something nice for a change."
Archer rubs his chin. "Like what?"
"Family." She pulls her son in and continues to stroke the back of his head, running her hands through the soft waves of his hair.
The Yagami family decide to take a family photo. Knight passes a stranger and asks them to take a picture of them. The woman obliges and counts to three before taking a photo of the six of them.
"Come on, Gilth," Masi urges, "family photo."
"What difference does it make," Gilth groans.
Masi drags Gilth forward before yanking him down a bit so they're in the photo.
The woman takes the photo of the smiling family of killers before handing the phone back. Knight reviews the photo and smiles upon seeing his Shinigami parents in the background, only Masi is smiling.
"Thank you," Knight says to the woman. "Alright gang, let's get a move on."
They head down the street, using a crosswalk and walking among a crowd of people. As they're walking, Angel looks at cabs stopping at intersections.
"They're driving on the wrong side of the road," he whispers.
"Yankees drive on the right, not the left," Kuroki points out.
"Why?"
"Different cultures," Iris shrugs. "Americans use pounds instead of kilograms and they use feet and inches instead of centimeters and meters like us. But it's okay, there's nothing wrong with that."
Knight helps his family step onto the curb where they pass a pie shop handing out pumpkin pie. Seeing the hungry look on their faces, Knight smiles before heading inside. He waits in line after telling hsi family to go find a booth and orders a family-sized pumpkin pie. Waiting for the others to call his order, Knight takes a tray of cups and feels them with soda before heading over to the booth.
He passes out sodas to each of them, already knowing what kind of flavor they like. As he is about to sit down, he groans before heading back to the booth.
"Excuse me," he says in English, putting on a poor English accent. "Do you have BBQ chips and strawberry sundaes?"
The cahsier smiles. "はい、そうです。タブに追加してもよろしいですか?"
Knight's eyes widen. "You speak Japanese?"
"I do," the cashier switches to English. "How is my Japanese coming along?"
"It needs a little more work but other than that, good job."
"Arigato."
"And yes, thank you."
"You're welcome."
Gilth and Masi float behind Knight.
"Aww, are you getting food for mommy and daddy?" Masi taps her son on the scalp. "Thank you."
Knight says nothing and heads back to his table. "Well, authentic pumpkin pie is on the way."
"What about a turkey?" Iris asks in Japanese. "We need a turkey."
"And what we're grateful for," Kuroki reminds them.
Knight nods. "Don't worry, I already have a fully cooked turkey ordered for our hotel room."
A few minutes later, the waitress came by and delivered them their family-sized pumpkin pie. Knight leaves her a tip ahead of time before he smiles. "Well, they make pies like this in Japan but they don't make authentic American pies."
"I wonder why," Rain snarks.
"Dig in," Knight tells them. "And the only leftovers will be taking are the chips and strawberry sundae." Knight grabs a knife and cuts the pie for his family before serving it to each Kira with careful precision. After serving the last slice for himself, the six of them turn to the window where they watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade march down the street of Times Square.
"Wow," Iris gasps. She takes out her phone and records the float with the giant turkey at the front.
Kuroki chuckles before observing how people are cheering and throwing confetti at the float.
Rain closes her eyes and simply takes small bite-size pieces of her pumpkin pie. She pauses only when she sees Gilth and Masi floating away and through the walls.
Archer climbs over his brother and puts his elbows on his brother's scalp as he tries to get a better view of the circus. "Angel, lookie!"
Angel pushes his brother off. "Stop it."
Knight chuckles before spotting Gilth and Masi floating to the parade. Gilth simply stays behind Masi while Msi stands on the top of the turkey float and waves to the crowd, blowing kisses before bowing. "Hey, I'm finally in a float!'
Knight chuckles before taking a photo.
Gilth grabs Masi before she can accidentally tip something over and confuse people as to why this person had been floating in the air without a harness.
A few minutes later, the waitress came back with the chips and sundae. Knight quickly asks for two take-home bags and the waitress nods. A few minutes later, she returns and Knight stuffs the chips and sundae in the bags. Grabbing their belongings after paying the check, the family steps outside and joins the crowd in watching the rest of the float.
Rain's eyes land on the marching trumpeters and nods her head as she listens to the sounds the instruments make. She snaps a quick photo before activating her Shinigami eyes.
Kuroki spots Rain looking over the photo. "You like trumpets?"
Rain looks at her. "They make good music."
Knight looks to his left and then his right. Seeing more parade floats, he points them out to his family. "Guys, look, we still got twenty more minutes of waiting before we see the rest of the float."
"Are we going to stay for the whole time?" Angel asks with hope in his eyes.
"That's why we're here," Iris tells them. "We came here for an American float so we're going to get our money's worth."
A Few Hours Later
Returning to the hotel was easier said than done because most of the cabs had been taken as soon as the parade ended and since they were unfamiliar with the territory of New York City, they opted to walk. Whenever they tried to flag down a cab to get back to their hotel, it was already taken, even when they were eleven blocks away from the float. They opt to take the subway. As they step onto the subway train and take a few empty seats, Knight keeps his eyes open for any potential threats. He looks at the cameras installed in the subway and narrows his eyes.
Huh, if I was in a Raye Penber situation, I couldn't do what Dad did on the metro with all these cameras. But I'm sure I'd find a way.
He stuffs his hands in his pocket, having a hidden pencil pressed against a scrap of paper just in case.
The last time I was in a subway, the Shinigami Eye twins took me hostage. And then they got killed thanks to me and dear old Humble.
Thiry minutes later, they reach their destination and step off the subway. With only about fifteen minutes of walking remaining until they make it to their hotel room, they get a move on. Knight pats his children's backs to sure they keep up and do not give up. Just a few more blocks and they would be back in their hotel room.
Making it to their hotel, they head inside and get comfortable on their bed. They had adjacent rooms with the adults sharing one room and the children having their room. The children's room looks like something out of a pig pen while the adults have trays of alcoholic beverages on almost every surface.
They flop down on the bed in their rooms. As They get comfortable, Knight opens his take-home bag and presents the chips to Gilth and Masi.
"Damn, where do you get off on making us wait." Gilth took a handful of chips. "I should write your name in my notebook and kill you, how about that?"
Masi licks at her sundae. "Aww, you wouldn't do that our little Knight-Light."
A few minutes later, someone knocks on the door and Knight has the honor of answering it. Opening the door, it is room service, here to deliver one fully cooked turkey to the room. Knight hands the room service lady a tip before wheeling the turkey to the center of the room. After gathering the attention of his children, he smiles.
"Family, gather around," he orders. "Now, I think we all know how this goes: we say what we're grateful for and say some kind of blessing. But honestly, as we don't make blessings, we receive blessings. But, we should still what we're grateful for. Me, I'm grateful to be the god of the new world."
"My family," Iris answers.
"My identity," Kuroki nods.
"To see Kira's legacy continue." Gilth munches on a chip.
Masi hugs Gilth. "To know that not even death can keep me and Gilth apart."
"Switcheraroos," ArchAngel answers honestly.
Rain looks around the room, eyeing each member of her godly family before her eyes land on the turkey. "Food."
"I wouldn't expect any other answer, heir of Kira." Knight begins cutting into the turkey. "Well, let's dig in."