●・○・●・○・●
CHAPTER ONE,
the aftermath

—

༇ KAORU Chishiya came first—

(Well, technically it was Cinnamon, whose last name is 'Two'; a white bunny.)

Only one and a half year after the Borderlands, Kaoru arrived. Whether or not it was a mistake, Baya and Chishiya refuse to share.

Kuina is convinced it was, as Baya so desperately wanted to get kids at the same time as Arisu and Usagi, except Kaoru was on the way before Arisu and Usagi could even think about kids.

Either way, the firstborn was like a sacred baby.

After everything that happened to the group, they all instinctively made sure Kaoru got and had everything he needed. Sadly enough, most people in their group had bad childhoods, and that adding up with Kota's death, gave Kaoru their dream childhood– maybe even better.

It started with the fact Kaoru unlocked a new emotion in Chishiya; overwhelming happiness with a mix of terror.

●・○・●・○・●

He stared at them. Baya, lying on the hospital bed, with an off-shoulder black top and the rest of her body beneath the sheets. The doctor lay Kaoru down on her chest three seconds ago–almost directly after he was born. He was bloody, tiny, and crying, wrapped in a blanket.

Baya was laughing and sobbing at the same time. She had trouble catching her breath after delivering an entire human being. Her hands trembled heavily as she held Kaoru.

Chishiya stood deadly still, his eyes slightly wider than normally, his breaths a little faster. The entire nine months of waiting hadn't fazed him that much. Baya having to rush to the hospital out of a sudden stressed him out a little bit, but in no way was he panicking. During the contractions, he was calm, and just held her hand while murmuring kind things.

But when he heard Kaoru's first cry, and then saw his body, he froze.

Ten minutes later, Baya finished crying. Chishiya was still in the exact same position when they took Kaoru. They washed him, gave him clothes, and let Baya feed him.

Another tear slipped down her cheek once Kaoru was back in her arms. Then finally, she looked at Chishiya, smiling. "Do you want to hold him?"

It surprised him that he was able to speak: "Not yet."

What if he doesn't feel anything? Or too much?

Baya silently understood, and smiled even wider. "Thoughts to share?"

"It's ugly."

A loud gasp. "Shuntarō! He's not ugly and you shouldn't call him 'it'."

"All babies are ugly in the beginning," he says flatly.

Baya sighed. "Maybe you'll change your mind if you hold him."

Before he could respond, she already lifted the fragile body off her chest and moved him closer to Chishiya, who hesitantly grabbed him the way he had taught himself to, through books.

It was like his organs fully flipped. Kaoru didn't cry. He just lazily snuggled in Chishiya's arms, making soft noises. Chishiya cleared his throat, but was unable to remove the lump from his throat. Kaoru's nose was tiny, his eyes closed, and had quite a lot of hair on his head.

Chishiya spun around— turned his back to Baya.

"Are you okay?" Baya asked softly.

"I'm fi—ne," his voice cracked so badly that Kuina would've made fun of it had she been there. Baya chuckled softly. Chishiya, however, was too terrorized yet somehow cheerful at the same time. He had to blink the wetness in his eyes away–it was all too much. Having to watch Baya stress and be in pain, trying not to scowl at the doctors every other second, watching Kaoru appear, and now holding him like a father at the age of twenty-six.

Some might say it's fast; they've only known each other for two years, but nothing in Chishiya's life had ever moved slow. Besides, the Borderlands was just what Chishiya and Baya needed to prove the love they had towards each other. Sacrifices, murdering...

●・○・●・○・●

When they returned home the next evening, everything felt foreign. The furniture, the lights, even their own voices in the hallway. Chishiya carried Kaoru inside with the kind of precision he usually reserved for operating tables.

Cinnamon, their rabbit, stopped mid-hop, sniffing the air. She twitched once, then circled the baby carrier.

Chishiya narrowed his eyes. "Don't. Lick."

He says he hates Cinnamon, but he really doesn't. He hated her the first three days. One evening, Cinnamon snuggled on his lap while he was reading, and that's when he folded. However, his love is now reversed for a new tiny being.

Baya limped in slowly behind him, holding her belly. Her steps were uneven and stiff. Chishiya immediately turned to her. "You're not walking upstairs."

"I'm fine," she mumbled.

"No. You're not. I moved a bed to the den. You're sleeping there."

"But you hate the den. I literally didn't even know you have a den because you never showed me it."

"And I also hate hemorrhaging."

He walked off without another word and gently placed Kaoru in the crib he had assembled. Baya watched from the doorway.

Chishiya didn't ask questions. He didn't fumble. He moved with certainty, his hands steady, his expression unreadable.

"I'll make you a bath," he decided once Kaoru was peacefully asleep.

●・○・●・○・●

Six months later, both Usagi and Baya were pregnant.

Chishiya and Baya moved further into the suburbs, into an even larger house. Arisu and Usagi finally scrambled enough money together to take the house directly next to Chishiya and Baya. Lastly, Kuina, Ann, and Aguni moved across the street together. Heiya stayed with her parents but visited plenty of times. 

In the new houses, Hana came first. And one month later, there was Kaede. But going from being the only child to having to share with others wasn't easy for Kaoru.

●・○・●・○・●

It starts subtly, at least to Chishiya.

Hana is born when Kaoru is just fifteen months old. Too young to understand, too old to ignore. He doesn't protest at first. He watches the baby with wide eyes and a sort of stunned silence, hovering behind Chishiya's leg whenever someone comes to visit. He tugs Baya's shirt a little more often. Holds onto Chishiya's hand longer at night.

Hana wakes every few hours with little gasping cries. Chishiya keeps the lights dim and the schedule tighter. He doesn't take time off work, but he comes home earlier now, sometimes still in scrubs.

Kaoru starts trailing him everywhere. He follows Chishiya into the kitchen, into the laundry room, and even into his office. When Chishiya showers, he opens the bathroom door just to sit on the floor, holding a picture book.

A few weeks into their new lives, something shifts. It's a Friday. The hospital's been brutal. Chishiya barely sleeps. He comes home just after sunset. Baya is asleep on the couch, Hana nestled on her chest.

Kaoru runs to greet him like usual. But tonight, he doesn't smile. He clings. Arms tight around Chishiya's leg. When Chishiya lifts him, Kaoru buries his face into his shoulder, breathing shallow. Then he begins to sob.

Chishiya freezes. Kaoru has cried before: teething, fever, a fall here and there, but never like this. Never this helpless.

He lowers himself into a chair with Kaoru still wrapped around his torso, damp cheek pressed against Chishiya's neck. Small hiccups shake his ribs.

"What's wrong?"

No answer. Just that voice wailing quietly now, breathless from it.

"Is it the noise?"

More hiccups.

"Did something hurt?"

Kaoru lifts his head. "No," he finally manages.

Chishiya wipes his tears with the side of his thumb. "Then what is it?" he whispers, with a gentleness he rarely uses. "You can tell me."

Kaoru whimpers. "Dada... no hold me."

Chishiya closes his eyes for a moment. Guilt burns low in his chest. Kaoru has been needing arms around him, while Chishiya has been dividing himself into shifts, sleep schedules, surgeries, and formula mixing. "I'm sorry," he says softly. "That was my fault."

The boy sniffles again. Clutches Chishiya's shirt in both hands.

"I'm right here now. And I'm not putting you down, okay?"

Kaoru nods into his collar.

The next morning, when Kaoru wakes, Chishiya is waiting with a plan.

"Want to help me with Hana?" he asks.

Kaoru nods, eyes wide.

He teaches him to pat Hana's back gently when she cries. Shows him how to shake toys just the way she likes. He even lets Kaoru help fold the smallest socks, though they never match by the end. And whenever Hana naps, Chishiya holds Kaoru just a little longer than needed.

●・○・●・○・●

It's still dark when Chishiya wakes up. The digital clock on his nightstand says: 05:02. His phone buzzes quietly, a gentle alarm he set to avoid waking the rest of the house. He turns it off before it finishes vibrating. Baya is asleep beside him, curled around a pillow in a way she's only started doing since giving birth. Hana is asleep in her tiny bed near the window, barely stirring.

He dresses in silence. Puts his scrubs on, along with his badge and a coat. The only sound is the floor creaking faintly under his feet.

He pauses outside Kaoru's room. There's a soft rustling. A rhythmic thump, like small feet against the mattress.

Chishiya furrows his brows and cracks the door open. The room is bathed in the faint glow of a nightlight shaped like a moon. Stuffed animals are scattered across the corners of the crib. Kaoru sits up with puffed cheeks and drowsy eyes, rubbing at his face.

He blinks slowly and looks up when he sees his father.

Chishiya sighs gently and steps inside. "You should be asleep."

Kaoru shakes his head,

"You're awake too early. It's still nighttime."

He lifts both arms. It's a silent plea Chishiya can't ignore, who lifts him out of the crib carefully. Kaoru wraps his legs around Chishiya's waist like a koala. Chishiya sways gently back and forth, just out of habit, hand on Kaoru's back.

"Did something wake you up?"

Kaoru shakes his head.

"Nightmare?"

"No."

"Then what is it?"

"No go."

Chishiya blinks. "What?"

Kaoru's bottom lip pokes out as he repeats it: "No go. Dada stay."

Chishiya exhales through his nose. "I have to go to work."

"Noooo—"

"I know." Chishiya brushes Kaoru's hair back from his forehead. "But I have to help people. Remember? The hearts and the blood?"

Kaoru pouts.

"Besides," Chishiya adds, "Mama is here. And Hana."

"No want Hana."

"That's not very kind."

Kaoru leans his forehead against Chishiya's neck. "Dada stay."

"I'll come back tonight, just like yesterday," Chishiya says. "We'll read books before bed, alright?"

Kaoru doesn't respond.

"You're getting clingy," Chishiya murmurs. "You used to be happy just seeing me after dinner. You can wait now, right? I'll be back."

"No," Kaoru replies simply. Then, suddenly: "Kaoru go."

"Go?"

Kaoru pulls back, eyes huge and serious. "Go work."

Chishiya stares at him. "You want to come with me?"

Kaoru nods, a determined little frown forming.

Chishiya shakes his head with a soft huff of breath. "You'd try to eat the stethoscopes."

Kaoru doesn't seem to care. "Go."

"I can't take you with me, Kaoru."

"Please," Kaoru whispers.

And that makes Chishiya stop. The last few weeks have changed everything. Since Hana's arrival, Kaoru has become more sensitive. He watches everything.  Chishiya closes his eyes for a moment.

"Okay," he murmurs, "I have fifteen minutes before I really need to go."

Kaoru makes a small, satisfied noise and snuggles closer.

"I can't bring you to the hospital," Chishiya says, "but I can let you help me get ready, yeah?"

Kaoru nods into his chest.

"So..." Chishiya continues, "what does I need for work?"

"Shoes."

"Yes," he agrees. "Shoes are good."

Kaoru lifts his hand and taps Chishiya's badge hanging around his neck. "Pic-sha."

"That's right. Picture ID. So they know I'm important."

Kaoru laughs quietly.

"You're very clever for your age," Chishiya says. "But you still need more sleep."

"No..." Kaoru yawns halfway through his protest.

"I'll be home before dinner. You'll tell me everything, yeah?"

Kaoru's eyelids start to lower.

"Even what Hana does while she sleeps all day."

When Chishiya finally sets him down in his crib again, Kaoru doesn't even stir. He curls onto his side with one of his plush animals and sighs in his sleep, as if reassured. Chishiya tucks the blanket over him, takes one last look, and leaves the room.

Outside, before he can even step into the car, Usagi jogs past him. She stops abruptly. "Oh, hi."

"What're you doing up?"

"Rebuilding my physiques." Her hand moves to wipe sweat off her forehead.

"You gave birth a few weeks ago."

"Yeah?"

"Never mind."

"How's Baya?"

"She's great. The first time was more stressful for her." Chishiya pauses shortly. "Who came up with your baby's name?"

"...why?"

"Was it Arisu?"

"He did write it down. But we chose it together, obviously. Why?" Usagi presses again.

"You stole my son's name," Chishiya points out.

"Stole? Your son is named Kaoru. Ours is Kaede."

"Exactly."

"It has two letters in common—"

"You stole my son's name."

"Well, what do you want me to do about it? Change his name?" Usagi blinks at him. "You're being ridiculous."

"I'm being accurate."

She exhales sharply and starts walking again. "You're so dramatic."

Chishiya follows her with a mild squint. "You should be resting."

"You should be less annoying."

He doesn't respond to that, just slips into his car with his usual blank expression.

●・○・●・○・●

Nurses greet him softly; he nods once in return but says nothing. At work, he's a completely different person than the man who cuddles Kaoru to sleep.

Here, he's cool and clinical. He washes his hands before entering the OR. The nurse already knows not to talk unless necessary. He slips on gloves.

Inside the operating room, time doesn't seem to exist. His fingers move automatically as he performs several surgeries that day.

The break room buzzes with conversation when he enters to refill his coffee during his break. Several nurses quiet instinctively when they see him, but curiosity gets the best of them. After all, earlier in the week, someone overheard him on the phone murmuring the words, 'Put Kaoru down for a nap. I'll be home soon.' And Chishiya doesn't seem like the kind of man who has anyone to go home to, let alone a baby.

"Dr. Chishiya," one of the new nurses says when he sits down, "you never talk about family. I heard a rumor you have a kid?"

Chishiya blinks once. "Two."

There's a pause. Eyebrows rise.

"Two? How old?"

"A little over a year and a few weeks," he says.

The entire table stares. Someone chokes on their tea. "No way," a someone mutters. "You're someone's dad?"

They keep staring, as if trying to imagine him changing a diaper with the same skill he handles a scalpel.

"And you're married?"

"No."

The nurse nearly drops her pen. "No?"

"No," he repeats flatly.

"Divorce? Breakup? Single dad?"

"We live together and we're dating."

"And you have two kids."

"Correct."

"Well... are you at least engaged?" Another nurse tries, clearly hopeful.

"No."

"She gave you two children, Dr. Chishiya!"

"I'm aware."

A swooning woman sighs. "And you still haven't asked her yet?"

"No."

"Why?!"

"Because I haven't asked yet."

"Does she want to marry you?"

"Yes. She thinks out loud."

"We'll help you," another chimes in. "You're clearly incapable of proposing on your own."

"I am very capable. I'm just not interested in spectacle."

"She sounds like she deserves a proposal that isn't depressing. Two kids?"

Chishiya scowls. "What would that even look like?"

The room lights up. "That depends! Tell us about her. What's she like?"

He raises an eyebrow, clearly disinterested. But without meaning to, he answers: "She likes animals more than people. She's noisy. She makes up songs when she's bored. She cries when she watches cartoons. She'll cry even harder if someone else cries. And if our kids get hurt, she blames me, even if I wasn't there. She has no idea what she's doing, but she keeps doing it anyway. And she's good with people. Ridiculously good. And she talks a lot."

"Okay!" one says, grabbing a notepad. "What kind of stuff does she like? Flowers? Fancy restaurants? Beaches?"

"I spent several years making sure you wouldn't talk to me," Chishiya mumbles below his breath.

"And now you appear to have a normal life behind the scenes and you're actually communicating with us people who don't even have a love life. So what does she like?"

"She likes fireworks. Cheap coffee in paper cups. The sun. Touch. Clingy things."

"Alright. Rooftop, evening, maybe fairy lights, warm drinks, something personal..."

He rubs his eyes, tired.

"Let us help you plan it!"

"I don't need—"

"Imagine her face."

He goes silent. He does imagine it; her eyes going wide, mouth open in shock, one hand pressed to her cheek, the other smacking his arm repeatedly for not warning her. She'd cry, and smile, and call him a jerk, and cling to him all the way home.

●・○・●・○・●

A few weeks later, it's not even ten minutes after Chishiya slides the ring onto her finger that Baya bolts out the front door.

She slams into the front door of Aguni, Ann, and Kuina's shared house.

"Hello—HELLO, everybody open up—"

Aguni appears first, towel over his shoulder, eyes narrowed. "It's eleven PM."

"I'm getting married!"

Kuina barrels down the hallway. "You what?!"

"Look!" Baya shoves her hand into Kuina's face, who shrieks with delight.

Ann appears around the corner, calm as ever in silk pajamas and glasses. "Oh, he actually proposed?"

Baya blinks. "You knew?"

"I felt it coming."

Baya lets out another scream that probably wakes the whole block and launches herself onto Ann in a tight hug. "I thought he didn't even like romance!"

"Apparently he likes you enough," Ann says, smiling against her shoulder. Aguni mutters something about needing whiskey. Kuina pulls Baya into the kitchen and immediately begins rummaging through drawers.

"This needs cake," she declares.

Ann rubs her temples. "No one is sleeping tonight, are they?"

Fifteen minutes after that, Baya is running again. This time down the sidewalk toward Arisu and Usagi's place.

Usagi appears, baby Kaede on her hip, wearing one sock and a sleep mask pushed up on her forehead. "What the hell—"

"I'm marrying him!" Baya screams, breathless.

Usagi gasps, covering her mouth. "No way—"

Arisu appears behind her. "Is someone dying or...?"

"Yes." Baya points directly at his face. "You. Violin. Wedding. Don't ask. Just do it."

Arisu looks at Usagi. "Do I play violin?"

"You'll learn," she says seriously.

They all start laughing. Kaede starts crying.

Usagi hugs her so tightly she nearly knocks her over. "I knew he was planning something! I told Ryohei, I said, she's getting a ring by next month or I swear—"

"I thought he'd never do it!" Baya cries. "I thought I'd have to propose myself! But this is the most beautiful thing in the world! And he knelt! He knelt! Like a movie!"

Kaede hiccups in the background. Arisu sighs and walks away muttering something about elopement.

Baya doesn't care. She's spinning in their living room now. Spinning, and squealing, and shouting, "I'm getting married!" over and over again.

And by the time she gets back home, an hour later, Chishiya is still in the same spot at the front door, Kaoru, who must've woken up, asleep on his shoulder.

●・○・●・○・●

By the time Kaoru is five—and Hana almost four—, the wedding already happened and Chishiya is working on turning Kaoru in a mastermind.

He scowls every time someone mentions the wedding. Arisu once walking in on him showering wasn't embarrassing. Printing two bruises in the shapes of hands on Baya's hips wasn't embarrassing. Nothing in his life has embarrassed him until that certain thing happened at the wedding. Baya simply laughs when he gets grumpy about it, then continues happily blabbering about how amazing the day was.

Their 'study nook' has evolved since Kaoru was two. Alphabet magnets are still on the wall, but now they sit beside diagrams of the human body, a solar system chart, and a labeled chessboard.

After all, they have enough money to cover it. Downstairs, there's a kitchen, living room, hallway, toilet, utility room, and the door to their garden— which is pretty large. Upstairs, they have Chishiya's office, a bathroom, three bedrooms, one spare room. The attic is very clean, even though no one ever uses it.

Baya is convinced their kids will use it to sneak drinks and friends inside. Chishiya grimaces at the thought.

Now it's early afternoon, and the house is quiet except for the hum of Baya humming in the kitchen with Hana sitting on the counter. Kaoru sits on a stool, swinging his legs, a pencil in his hand, brow furrowed as he looks down at a small notebook Chishiya made for him. Lined pages filled with puzzles and patterns, words circled in red.

Chishiya sits across from him, sipping coffee. He's watching Kaoru, not pressuring, just studying how the boy works through things.

And that's already crazy, considering Kaoru is only five and his speech has developed so much that he can pronounce 'cardiovascular', and his mom still can't.

"Okay," Chishiya says. "Let's try this again. There's a man in a room. No windows. No doors. The floor is flooded. There's a table in the center and a rope hanging from the ceiling. The man is wet. He didn't drown. He didn't climb. How did he die?"

Kaoru's eyes narrow. "You said he's wet."

"Yes."

"But not from outside?"

"No water came in."

"And the floor's full of water?"

"Yes."

Kaoru goes silent for a moment, thinking. "Did he... melt?"

Chishiya blinks. His lips twitch. "Getting warm."

Kaoru gasps. "He stood on ice!"

"Correct."

"And the rest?"

"He used a block of ice to hang himself. The ice melted."

Kaoru shudders, then flips the page. Another riddle waits there, but instead of answering it, he points to the corner where a small drawing of the heart is scribbled. "Left atrium."

Chishiya nods, mildly impressed. "And what does it do?"

"It takes blood from the lungs," Kaoru answers, tapping the drawing, "and sends it to the left... the left what?"

"Ventricle."

"And it's oxygenated blood," the boy quickly adds.

Chishiya's expression softens with a hint of pride. "Exactly. You've been paying attention."

"I like it when you teach me," Kaoru admits. "But you're scary when you teach chess."

"I'm not scary. I just don't let you win."

Kaoru pouts. "Mama lets me win."

"Your mother also let you eat cake for breakfast once."

Kaoru giggles. He turns back to the chessboard now, where a game is mid-progress.

Kaoru reaches for a pawn and stops. "If I move this, you'll get my knight."

"True."

"So I should do..." He hesitates. "Rook here?"

Chishiya nods slowly. "That's a decent play."

Kaoru beams.

He's clever and sharp. He sees possibilities early, and absorbs faster than Chishiya expected. And even better: he enjoys learning. Not for praise, but for the thrill of understanding something new. It reminds Chishiya of himself at that age, only with far more warmth and far less loneliness.

"Do you think I'll be a doctor like you?" Kaoru asks suddenly.

Chishiya raises an eyebrow. "Do you want to be?"

"I don't know. I like hearts."

"They're interesting," Chishiya agrees. "But you don't have to decide yet."

"Okay."

Dinner is loud that evening. Not because anyone is misbehaving—though Hana is currently trying to attack Chishiya with a spoon—but because Baya is singing along to a song no one else knows.

Chishiya, as always, eats in peace. Or tries to.

Kaoru chews his rice thoughtfully. Then he announces, "Papa taught me how the man hung himself."

Baya freezes. Mid-dance. Mid-song. Mid-air. She turns very slowly, one eye twitching.

"I'm sorry. He what?"

Kaoru beams. "In a riddle! The man used a block of ice and when it melted, he—"

"No." Baya slaps a hand over her son's mouth. "No more words."

Chishiya glances at her from across the table. "He asked for a riddle."

"You gave him suicide?!"

"It's a logic exercise."

"He's five."

"So?"

Baya's jaw drops. "So?! What happened to alphabet magnets? What happened to learning shapes and colors?"

"We finished those."

"He's five."

Kaoru, still muffled under Baya's hand, makes a small noise. She lets him go. He reaches calmly for a dumpling and takes a bite, unbothered.

Baya spins to Chishiya again. "I swear, if Hana starts saying that word—"

"Mama," Hana pipes up, voice syrupy sweet. "Hunged!"

"Hana," Kaoru says patiently, "it's hung. Not hunged."

●・○・●・○・●

The next day, the doorbell rings just past noon. Baya opens it to find Usagi holding Kaede on her hip and Arisu juggling two shopping bags.

"Come in, come in," Baya waves them inside. "I need support."

A while later, they're all in the living room. Kaede is sitting beside Hana with a picture book in her lap, while Baya and Usagi sip tea on the couch and Arisu digs through their CDs.

Kaoru appears with a chessboard, plops it on the carpet beside Arisu, and begins setting up.

Then Hana stands up. She looks at Arisu very seriously, one hand on her tiny hip, hair bobbing around her cheeks.

And she says, "Hang yourself."

Usagi stares.

Baya spits her tea.

Arisu freezes in a squat.

"What?" Usagi says.

"What did she say?" Arisu chokes.

"I'm going to murder you," Baya yelps, launching a pillow at Chishiya, who's just now stepping into the room with a glass of water.

He catches the pillow mid-air. "I was gone for two minutes."

"Two minutes too long!" Baya snaps.

Chishiya sighs and looks down at Hana. "I'll go explain what it really means...?"

Baya throws a slipper after him. "You better tell her that saying it again will cause a witch to curse her!"

Hana beams. "Ari is hunged!"

"Hung, Hana. Hung," Kaoru points out.

Hana tells both Aguni and Ann to hang themselves before she finds a new word to repeat; vacuum.

●・○・●・○・●

The summer sun bakes the sand until it's hot. By now, Hana and Kaede have turned four. The beach is crowded, but not overwhelming. Just the right amount of life around them.

Hana is the first to spot the water. She's already tugging at her dress before they've even finished setting up the towels.

"Mama, Mama, I see the sea!" she shrieks, grabbing Baya's hand with sticky fingers. "It's moving!"

"It tends to do that," Kaoru responds.

Kaede—dressed in bright orange shorts with sharks on them—follows close behind, eyes huge, mouth open in wonder. "It's big," he says.

Kaoru is already halfway to the water with his bucket in one hand, sand flying behind him. Chishiya trails behind with a book in hand, pretending not to watch as his son tests the waves.

The water is cold at first, shocking against warm skin, but the kids don't care. Hana shrieks with delight as a wave rolls up over her knees. Kaede grabs her hand. "Run!" he yells, dragging her back from the foam.

"It tickled me!" she cries.

Usagi and Baya follow. Hana and Kaede turn to them, giggling so hard their noses scrunch.

"Help us build a boat!" Hana demands.

"A big one!" Kaede adds. "Bigger than the moon!"

They settle into the sand. Baya sits cross-legged while Usagi kneels. Kaede and Hana dump sand over each other's knees before focusing on to the task.

Kaoru eventually wanders over, peering at the messy construction with interest.

"Do you want to help?" Baya asks.

He shrugs and starts digging a trench around the boat, muttering about water flow and structural failure. Chishiya, watching from a towel beneath their umbrella, smirks slightly behind his book.

Eventually, it becomes a glorious mess of buckets, feathers, shells, and one shoe Kaede insists is an engine. Hana crowns it with a piece of coral.

"Now we sail," she declares.

Kaoru pokes at the structure with a stick. "This doesn't have functional walls."

●・○・●・○・●

Later, while they eat watermelon on the towels, Hana accidentally spits a seed onto Kaede's cheek. He screams. Hana screams louder just because. Kaoru quietly scoots away from both of them and eats his slices in peace.

And as they begin to pack up, Chishiya finally closes his book and stands, brushing sand from his clothes. He glances at the three children walking ahead, hand in hand, arguing about what kind of animal they'd ride if they ruled the ocean.

"A dolphin," Kaede says.

"No, a giant octopus," Kaoru insists.

"It's obviously a seahorse," Hana protests.

Baya laughs and throws an arm around Chishiya's waist.

He scowls. Kaede's crimes against humanity include clumsy hugs, hand holding, and annoying questions. He's got this mop of dark hair and giant curious eyes that constantly seem to be calculating new ways to test Chishiya's sanity, who barely tolerates Kaede.

And worst of all, he's relentlessly attached to Hana. Where Hana goes, Kaede follows. Where Hana plays, Kaede inserts himself. Where Hana sits on her father's lap, Kaede mingles himself into the same space and says, "I want to sit on Dr. Shushiya too."

"Chishiya," Chishiya corrects every time.

"Shushiya," Kaede repeats. "Or rather, Shush. I'm calling you Shush."

Baya thinks it's adorable. Usagi says it's sweet. Arisu thinks it's hilarious. Chishiya thinks Kaede is plotting his downfall.

"He looks too much like his father yet he's got an even worse personality," he mutters.

"Kaoru looks like you, too," Baya responds. "Maybe not physically, but he literally copies everything you do."

"Better than copying Arisu."

●・○・●・○・●

🂱 A/N: lol this is a very messy first chapter and I'm not sure if I like it. It's just an introduction to how their lives have been evolving

The following chapters will be more structured, though they'll also contain quite some time skips!! The time skips stop when the kids are about 18/19, because that's when the love story actually begins.

And of course I'll be including more about the past. Like I said, this is just an introduction!

Sorry if this was boring!! More interesting but also playful scenes will appear later.

Any guesses about who Kiyoshi Hattori is yet?

Have a good day!! Feedback?