A/N: Helloooooo my lovely readers! I'm back again, with another episode of chaos, featuring the bladebreakers' children! And this chapter gives an intro to Max and Mariam's kids so I hope you're excited hehe ;) So pls read and enjoyyyy

Where We Always End Up — Chapter 2

It was a peaceful Sunday morning. The kind that wraps you in the warmth of your blanket and begs you not to get up. Lin had every intention of sleeping in, her soft breaths steady, her arms wrapped around her huge panda plushie, which was gifted to her by her beloved dad. Ofcourse.

But unfortunately, peace had its limits. And in the Kon household, its name was Lian.

Lian Mei Kon stood over her older sister like a mischievous little goblin. She shook Lin once. Nothing. She shook her again, more aggressively. Still nothing. She groaned, then climbed on top of her sister's back, lying there like a blanket.

"Liiiin, get up," she said in a singsong voice.

Lin didn't even flinch.

Lian narrowed her eyes. She tugged at Lin's hair. A low groan escaped Lin's mouth, but she stayed unconscious to the world. She tugged harder, only for Lin to mumble, "Go away Lian." in her groggy voice.

With a sigh of dramatic proportions, Lian smirked and leaned in close. "Mom is taking away your favourite white tiger plushie to sell it."

Lin shot up as if she'd just been hit by lightning, flinging Lian off her back and onto the floor with a thud.

"Driger!?" she gasped, frantically patting the bed. Yup she'd named the plushie after her bit beast, which was given to her by her father. And she adored the plushie, to say the least.

The plushie sat exactly where it always did—safe and sound. And Lin realised her mom would never do that, not in her wildest dreams.

Lin turned her head slowly, glaring at her sister who sat on the floor rubbing her butt and smirking like the devil.

"You're so evil." Lin narrowed her eyes at Lian.

"No I'm not," Lian grinned while mumbling something about her fall being worth it because of Lin's priceless reaction.

Lin grumbled something about evil sisters under her breath.

"Now that you're up," Lian stood, still wincing, "let's go annoy Dad. He's home."

Lin rubbed her eye before stretching. "He's home every day. What are you talking about?"

Lian just grabbed her sister's wrist and dragged her downstairs, while Lin tried to maintain her balance while walking through the stairs since her eyes hadn't opened completely yet.

Out in the backyard, Ray was humming softly to himself, trimming some roses, entirely absorbed in his gardening. The girls peeked at him from behind the door.

"He's in a good mood," Lin whispered.

"Do you think he'll actually get annoyed today?" Lian asked.

Lin shrugged. "Unlikely. He never does."

Ray turned his head. "Good morning, sweeties."

The girls smiled at him. "Good morning, Dad!"

Ray smiled back, as his beloved girls approached him. Lin stood beside him and examined the roses while Lian wrapped her arms around his neck, as he crouched down and climbed on his back. Ray gave a pat on Lin's head.

"Your mom's somewhere inside. Can you go help her out?"

Lin stopped examining the roses.

"Um, I have to brush and go out with my friends!" Lin blurted and bolted up the stairs.

Lian stared after her, betrayed. "Wow. Unbelievable."

Ray chuckled. "Can you?" He asked, as he turned his head to look at her. Lian, the ever obedient, sighed and nodded as she got off his back to go inside and look for her mom.

Inside, Mariah was scrubbing the bathroom floor like her life depended on it. Not a speck of dirt would escape her. Lian peeked in. "Good morning mo- Mom, you're cleaning again?" She sighed.

Mariah paused and glanced over. "Morning honey. You say that like it's not necessary."

"But it's Sunday!" Lian cried.

Mariah pointed at the sponge. "You wanna help?"

Lian ran back to her dad. Mariah chuckled and continued scrubbing the bathroom floor.

—

At the Hiwatari residence, breakfast was done and the kitchen spotless. Kai sat silently at the table, sipping his tea while Gou walked to the door with purpose.

"Where are you going?" Hilary asked, surprised. Gou rarely went anywhere unannounced.

"Got some stuff," Gou replied flatly, before quietly exiting the penthouse.

Hilary blinked and frowned as she crossed her arms. "He's just like you, Kai. I can never a straight answer from him."

Kai lifted his gaze. "Well if that's the case, we can still make one who's like you, you know."

Hilary choked on air, cheeks tinged red. "W-What?!"

Kai sipped his tea again like he didn't just suggest having another baby.

"I—I have dishes!" Hilary declared and rushed into the kitchen.

Kai followed her in, smirking slightly.

—

Meanwhile at the Granger household, chaos was already in full swing.

"I'M NOT COMING BACK IF YOU DON'T CAGE MASHIRO!" Makoto screamed, running out the front door.

Akaya sprinted behind Mashiro, managing to grab her hoodie just in time. Mashiro kicked her legs and yelled, "LET ME GOOOOOO!"

"No. You're not going anywhere." Akaya pulled her back as she shut the door close.

"But he stole my candy!!" Mashiro whined.

Akaya sighed, dragging the six-year-old back inside. "Why did I marry that man and make mischievous gremlins with him," she muttered.

Tyson, who was on the other side of the house dusting a corner, sneezed. "Who's cursing me now?" He mumbled, wiping under his nose with his index finger. How'd he know, it was his own wife. TT

—

Later that morning, Lin, Makoto, and Gou arrived at the park simultaneously. Not exactly simultaneously, because Gou was already there where Lin came walking and Makoto was sprinting.

"So why are we here?" Gou asked as he stood, leaning against a tree trunk, his arms crossed.

"Well, before we get to that, Makoto.. Why were you sprinting like wild dogs were chasing you?" Lin looked at Makoto who was, now, lying on the ground as he panted. Gou sighed.

"Well, long story..."

~ Flashback at the Granger Dojo ~

"ONIICHAN STOLE MY CANDY!!" Mashiro yelled as she saw Makoto chew on a gummy bear.

"THIS IS MINE! NOT YOURS!" Makoto yelled back as he grabbed his small backpack, to leave the house.

"Well Makoto, didn't I ask you not to eat any candy?" Akaya stood at the door, sternly looking at Makoto, hand on her hips. He looked at her before scratching the back of his head, realising he'd eaten three packs on candies yesterday and he ate one more today, despite being asked not to. Oh lord, doomed was he.

In the middle of his mom lecturing him, he spotted Grandpa Granger. He pleaded with his eyes to help him out but Grandpa Granger, obviously being the disciplinarian he was, shook his head and mouthed "listen to your mom." And went to the garden, leaving a very stressed Makoto, still being lectured.

After some 20 minutes of lecture from his mom, he was given an additional time out of 10 minutes. But ofcourse, he wasn't taking that. Especially when he was already twenty minutes late to his 'important meeting' with Gou and Lin.

He stared deep into his mom's eyes, mentally counted upto three before bolting, dodging Akaya, as she tried to grab him.

"SORRY MOM! GOTTA GO!"

And Mashiro sprinted behind him, still yelling about him stealing her candies. And Akaya chased them both.

"MAKOTO COME BACK HERE!" Akaya yelled.

"I'M NOT COMING BACK IF YOU DON'T CAGE MASHIRO!" Makoto screamed, running out the front door.

(A/N: And the rest is history...)

"Ahh I see. So was the candy yours?" Lin asked, and Makoto shook his head, smirking evilly.

"Really Makoto..." Gou pinched the bridge of his nose, already done.

"Yeah! Anyways ready for Mission Miss Koyanagi guys?!" Makoto said with enthusiasm.

"Don't drag me into this, I told you to drop the idea but since you didn't, I'm going back home." Gou almost turned his heel to go but...

"Too late," Lin said, linking arms with him. "You're in." Gou blinked, then felt his ears heat up. Lin was holding his hand. Again.

Makoto nodded seriously. "Operation: Teacher Trouble is a go."

Gou groaned. "You guys are stupid."

"We saw her with two different men," Lin whispered. "And she wears a ring!"

"Maybe she's cheating or something?" Makoto wondered.

"A ring and two different men doesn't mean she's married—or cheating!" Gou snapped.

They ignored him.

—

Outside Miss Koyanagi's house, the trio crouched behind a wall. She emerged, smiling—an unfamiliar sight. With her, was a boy, with red hair.

"I'm telling y'all this is a bad idea." Gou whispered to both of them.

And they ignored him. Again.

"She is suspicious," Makoto whispered.

"She's with that same guy, who's not her husband." Lin whispered back.

The three of them followed her stealthily. First a café. Then a jewelry store, as they watched her laugh with the man who she'd gone out with.

"She's totally cheating," Makoto said.

"She could be buying something for her partner," Gou pointed out.

Two hours later, they watched her return home, hand-in-hand with the same man.

Gou sighed. "That's her fiancé. Same guy. He just dyed his hair to red."

Lin blinked. "Oh. Yeah, that makes sense."

"You're both insane you know that?! Who even accuses their teacher of cheating?" Gou scolded both of them.

"I guess. We shouldn't have made assumptions. But I only came because I felt like she has something personal against me." Lin huffed crossing her arms, remembering the times Miss Koyanagi threw her out of the class for apparently no reason. There were reasons ofcourse but to Lin they didn't matter. And also when she texted her mom about the attendance thingy.

"Lin, you are barely present in class and whenever you are, you're copying my notes. She doesn't have anything personal against you, she's just fed up." Gou sighed.

"Yeah you're right. I'm sorry Gou, I wouldn't do anything like that again." Lin sighed, realising her mistake.

"Don't apologise to me. Just get better." Gou patted her head.

Makoto grinned. "Next time, bigger mission."

"NO!" Lin and Gou chorused.

Makoto wasn't fazed. "We'll bring Leo and Luna."

Lin perked up. "Ooh, having Luna around would be fun. And Leo too!"

Gou sighed in defeat.

Well speaking of Leo and Luna...

At the Tate residence, twin chaos was brewing.

The twins were in a tug-of-war with a bag of chips. On one side tugged a ten year old blonde girl with blue eyes while on the other side, tugged her twin brother who had the same hair but emerald eyes. Both were almost the same height of approximately 4 feets and 9 inches.

"Let go!" Luna growled.

"No, you let go!" Leo snapped.

"Fine," Luna said sweetly, then let go.

Leo tumbled back onto the floor with a thud.

Luna burst into laughter.

Max entered just in time to see Leo sprawled on the ground. He opened his mouth to speak—but both twins sneezed at the same time. (Courtesy of Makoto for remembering them both, back at the park.)

"STOP COPYING ME!" they shouted in unison.

Max groaned. "Leo. Luna. Enough. We need peace in this house."

The twins looked at each other and huffed, turning away dramatically.

And that presents, the Tate twins. Leo Tate and Luna Tate. Max Tate and Mariam's twin son and daughter. They were cheerful young pre teens, who'd find any excuse to bicker with and yell at each other, yet when they form an alliance, nobody can stop the chaos they create together. As much as they pretend to hate each other, they can't spend one day without each other.

Max sighed again, remembering his wife who'd gone to work, and questioning what made him want to become a stay at home dad to these two menaces, nine years back.

"When is Mariam coming home..."

—

Back at the park, Makoto and Lin were already plotting the next mission.

"No," Gou said.

"Yes," Makoto said.

"Maybe," Lin added.

With a mutual agreement, they agreed to postpone their new 'mission' with Leo and Luna, the weekend after next weekend and all the three headed home.

—

The Kon household was quiet—until Lin slammed the front door open, kicked off her shoes with a dramatic grunt, and hollered, "I'M HOME!"

Without wasting a second, she raced up the stairs, her bag nearly flying off her shoulder as she barged into her bedroom. But her victorious entrance faltered when she spotted her sister sprawled across her bed.

"What are you doing in my room, Lian?" Lin scoffed, eyebrows furrowed.

Lian looked up from one of Lin's comic books, resting comfortably on Lin's pink beanbag like she owned the place. "I like your room more than mine."

Lin crossed her arms. "No you don't. Get out."

Lian didn't budge. Instead, she smirked, the same smirk that always got on Lin's nerves. "How about no?"

That was all it took.

Bickering ensued. Words like "brat," "thief of my space," "drama queen," and "absolute gremlin" were thrown around like they were verbally abusing each other. Pillows flew. Lin tried to yank her blanket off the bed while Lian stubbornly held on.

"Lian, you're squashing my blanket!"

"Maybe your blanket needs to experience some real life trauma!"

Their voices climbed higher and higher until—

"LIN XIAO KON AND LIAN MEI KON!" came a booming voice from downstairs. "IF I HEAR ONE SINGLE NOISE, YOU'RE BOTH GROUNDED FOR THE NEXT WEEK!"

The room went dead silent.

Lian blinked. "Oops... I forgot mommy had a headache. You shouldn't have yelled. Do you not care about mommy?" She frowned at Lin.

Lin stared at her like she'd grown a second head. "I just got home. How would I know that?!"

With a groan, she collapsed on the bed next to Lian. Lian, ever the random whirlwind of energy (the trait she inherited from her mom), perked up suddenly. "Hey, come to my room. I wanna show you my new sticker collection, featuring Galux! I made it myself!"

Before Lin could protest, she was already being dragged down the hallway.

Downstairs, Mariah sat serenely on the couch, sipping a warm cup of tea. Her face was the picture of tranquility—except for the telltale evil glint in her eyes.

Ray eyed her suspiciously, as he looked up from the magazine he was reading. "You really think pretending to have a headache is a good idea? I mean what if they randomly come downstairs and see you chilling here? We always teach them not to lie yet here we are."

Mariah took another delicate sip, eyes closed in bliss. "Atleast it's gonna keep them quiet until they see me chilling. Did you realise for the first time this week, they're bonding instead of beybattling in our hallway? I'm so glad that the house doesn't look like a battlefield today."

Ray shook his head, amused. "You're terrifying, you know that?"

"I'm a mom of two pre teen girls, Ray. This is called survival."

—

At the Granger residence, Makoto stepped inside like a ninja. Shoes off, bag hugged close to his chest, he tiptoed in—his eyes darting around like he was on a stealth mission. He thought he was safe.

"You know I saw you, right?" came Akaya's voice from the kitchen.

Makoto flinched. Busted.

But she didn't turn around or chase him down. Just kept washing the dishes calmly.

Curious, Makoto walked over. "Mom... you alright?"

Akaya raised an eyebrow at him, her blue eyes amused. "What makes you think I'm not alright? Or are you asking because you're afraid I'll call down the thunder for dodging your timeout earlier?"

Makoto raised his hands in surrender. "Nope, nope. I'm good. Totally good."

Akaya chuckled. "Thought so."

"Where's Grand Grandpa?"

"He's in his room, meditating."

"And Mashiro?"

"She's with your dad. Watching Frozen. Again. She made him sit through it with her."

Makoto snorted. "Seriously?!" He plopped down into one of the dining table chairs, grinning. "He must be dying."

"Pretty sure he fell asleep ten minutes in," Akaya said dryly. "But don't tell Mashiro that."

Makoto laughed harder. "This is amazing."

Akaya dried her hands and leaned against the counter, watching her son with soft eyes. "So? How was the day?"

He shrugged, still grinning. "Good. Gou and Lin were around. It was stupid, but... fun-stupid."

Akaya didn't press for more. She knew how the eleven year olds operated—push too hard and you get a wall. Instead, she nodded with a little smile, glad to just have him talk to her.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Tyson Granger was fighting a different kind of battle—against sleep.

He was nestled on the couch, head tilted slightly back, snoring lightly. That was until a soft poke to his cheek made him jolt.

"Daddy."

Tyson blinked, trying to focus. In front of him was Mashiro, his beloved second born who he loved more than anything in the entire world. Her big blue eyes, that she got from her mom, were staring at him accusingly.

"You're supposed to watch the movie. Not sleep."

"Right, right," he mumbled, straightening up and rubbing his eyes. "Totally watching, sweetie. Where's the snowman guy again?"

Mashiro rolled her eyes in the most dramatic way a six-year-old could manage and crawled back into his lap. "We're at Let It Go, Daddy. Focus."

Tyson placed his chin on her head, hugging her close to himself, while trying to stay awake as Elsa belted out her anthem for the hundredth time this month.

—

Across town, at the Hiwatari penthouse, the elevator pinged open to reveal Gou, backpack slung low and hair slightly windblown.

Hilary greeted him at the door with a warm smile. "Welcome home, sweetheart."

"Hi mom." He returned the smile, albeit a bit tired, and made his way inside.

"Hi," he said to Kai, who was sitting on the couch reading a report.

Kai looked up and nodded. "So... Did you enjoy stalking with your friends today?"

Gou flopped onto the armchair, exasperated. "No. Makoto is stupid. And Lin? I don't know, she's somewhere between stupid and smart."

Kai snorted in amusement. "Didn't expect anything less."

Hilary, arms crossed, watched them both with narrowed eyes. "Stalking? What stalking?"

Gou and Kai exchanged a look.

"Nothing," they said in unison.

Hilary rolled her eyes, but smiled. Her boys and their cryptic bonding. Still, as she looked at them—her son getting older, her husband somehow still annoyingly handsome—and she was reminded for Kai's idea, earlier in the morning.

Maybe it really was time for another little one in the house. A sibling for Gou. Maybe a little late but she wanted it. She smirked to herself.

—

And finally, at the Tate household, Mariam opened the front door to find absolute chaos.

Max was running across the living room, a spatula in hand. "GET BACK HERE!"

Leo and Luna, their ten-year-old twins, were squealing with laughter as they darted away like mini tornadoes.

"I TOLD YOU TO KEEP THE GLUE OUT OF THE TOILET, LEO!"

"It was an experiment!" Leo yelled back.

"Right!" Luna yelled too, as she jumped across the sofa.

Mariam pinched the bridge of her nose. "Enough! All of you, freeze."

Leo froze in place like a statue. Luna froze mid jump and landed face down on the floor. Max looked betrayed. "I was winning."

Mariam raised an eyebrow. "Really? While holding a spatula like a weapon?"

The twins snickered and bolted upstairs. "To the rooms!" they shouted in unison.

Max sighed, defeated. "We need stronger locks."

"Or better parenting," Mariam muttered as she picked up legos from the floor.

Max winced as he stepped on one. "Agh! Why are these so evil?!"

They cleaned in silence for a moment before collapsing onto the couch.

"I love them," Mariam said, brushing a toy train off the cushion.

"Me too," Max groaned. "But wow, I miss peace."

Upstairs, in Leo's room, Luna flopped down on the carpet beside him, both of them giggling uncontrollably.

"We're menaces," Leo declared proudly.

"Mom and Dad are gonna lose their minds one day," Luna agreed.

They high-fived.

Then Luna gasped. "Wait. Homework."

Leo paled. "Oh crap. It's Monday tomorrow."

Within seconds, both were scrambling for their school bags.

"We are so dead if we don't finish this," Leo muttered.

Luna nodded furiously. "Do NOT tell Mommasaurus we forgot."

"Deal."

—

The houses gradually settled into something resembling calm, each family in their own bubble of chaos, laughter, exhaustion, and love.

And somewhere, in the back of all the parents' minds was the same thought:

"...Why did we think having kids was going to be easy?"

—

A/N: Sooooo here's the second chapter guys!! How was Leo and Luna's intro?? Hmmmm? *side eyes* Also guys, about that KaiHil scene, Kai and Hilary are not having another kid, I'm not making Hilary pregnant in any of the later chapters, don't expect anything like that from me TT... SOOOOO! Tell me your thoughts about this chapter in the reviews, anddddd the next chapter is gonna be even more interesting and fun cuzzzz there's gonna be more chaos *smirks evilly* and I might add more side characters in it so stay tuned *winks* I'll see you in the next chapter guysss bye byeeeee *heart heart*