Saturday, February 14, 2037
Yachi stands next to Kaya's desk, taking documents from her and placing them into various filing folders. "Thanks again for coming in on a Saturday morning Yachi." Kaya tells her with a smile. "Oh it was no problem Kaya. If it hadn't been for me the documents would have been correct and we wouldn't be needing to fix them for the bank now." Yachi tells her with a smile.
Kaya shakes her head softly and allows her eyes to land on Yachi's swollen stomach. "You're pregnant. VERY pregnant at that. It's only natural to be forgetful and even make mistakes. It's like your brain gets all foggy for no reason. Don't be so hard on yourself." Kaya soothes.
Yachi smiles at her. "You're right about that. This is my second pregnancy so I know that already, but five years ago I wasn't CFO, so these mistakes weren't as big a deal. And I kind of feel bad that I'm cutting into your Valentine's day." Yachi tells her with her face falling a little.
Kaya chuckles and closes up her laptop, "Toru and I never celebrate Valentine's day anyway." She reminds her CFO. "Right, it's your goddaughter's birthday isn't it? How old is she this year?" Yachi asks. "16. We're having her party at our place since there's more space." Kaya tells her with a smile.
"Aww, that's so nice. She was looking a lot more like her mother last time I saw her at the Christmas Party." Yachi observes aloud. "Yeah, that Sugawara grey hair is something else isn't it? I love the way their hair looks. She's got Hajime's eyes though so it's really a shocking combination." Kaya chuckles aloud.
Yachi nods happily, "She's a beautiful girl. I bet Hajime, Koushi, and Toru really worry about her dating, huh?" She asks. Kaya laughs and stands from her desk. "You have no idea. Though she did say she's not really interested in dating right now and has been more focused on school and even helps her mom in the studio." Kaya tells her, walking towards her door.
The two women step out together and lock up the door, the nameplate reads 'Kaya Oikawa- Date Tech President.' The two women make their way over to the financial department and Yachi opens her office door, the two women entering together and placing the documents in the filing cabinet under the corresponding space needed.
"I have to stop by Kaname's office for him as well, if you want to go ahead Yachi." Kaya tells her with a smile. Yachi bids Kaya farewell and makes her way out of the office while Kaya makes her way over to her brother's office.
She uses her key and lets herself in, grabbing his forgotten lunch box and carrying it out with her. She heads over to her brother's house and knocks on the door, a tall red haired beauty soon greeting her. "Hey aunt Kaya." She greets happily, hugging her aunt.
"Hey Hoshi. I brought your dad's lunchbox for him." She smiles, holding it up. "Ah, ok. Would you like to come in?" She asks, receiving a reluctant shake of the head from Kaya. "I really better get heading towards home, the event coordinator is probably already there and Toru isn't the best at remembering what goes where. I'll see you later on though." She tells her, giving her a hug before heading back to her car.
50 minutes later, Kaya pulls up to the gate in front of her home in Lawrenceville, finding the gate propped wide open to allow the various employees to come in and set up everything for Ikigai's party. She makes her way along the driveway and opens the garage, pulling into her usual spot and immediately spotting a young boy her height with soft brown hair and grey eyes open the door from inside the house.
Kaya gets out of her car and locks eyes with the youth, waiting for him to speak, but he just stares back at her saying nothing. "Is there something you need Ichiro?" She inquires, raising a brow. "No, dad told me to come see if you had anything that needed to be carried inside." He replies with a soft smile. Kaya sighs and closes the car door.
"What happened to the sweet boy that used to greet me happily when I came home?" She asks with sadness in her voice. "I'm still happy to see you." He tells her, his face falling a little. "I'm just too old to come running and screaming, demanding hugs now." He adds soothingly.
"Mommy!" a small boy screams, pushing his way past Ichiro. Kaya bends at the waist and scoops him up into her arms and hugs him close before covering his face in kisses. "Besides, you still have Kota for all of that mom." Ichiro tells his mother with a smile.
"Yeah, yeah. One day he'll be a moody 13 year old to cool to hug his mom too." Kaya counters, hugging the boy in her arms closer. "I'll always give you hugs mommy." He promises. "You're my favorite person in the world." He adds, smiling brightly at her. "Aww, I love you too baby boy." She replies.
"Where's Souta and dad?" Kaya asks her eldest son, almost afraid to know the answer. "Dad's out by the barn showing people where to put the tents for the party and Souta is down there trying to copy dad's jump serve." He tells her, both of them laughing.
Her middle child had become obsessed with learning how to serve the ball the way he'd seen his father do in a video he'd just seen the last time he was at Hajime and Hikari's house. "He's only 9. Your dad couldn't serve like that when he was 9." Kaya reasons, shaking her head and walking into the house with Kota on her hip.
Kaya kisses her youngest son's brown curls and sits him back on the floor before opening the door to the on the other side of the garage and getting onto a golf cart. "Can I come?" Ichiro asks. "We can't leave the four year old alone." She tells him. "If I help Kota into his coat can we both come?" He asks. "I was kind of hoping I could use your brother as my excuse to get your dad far away from the party set up. Why don't you come down after he gets here?" She suggests and Ichiro nods his agreement.
Reaching the bottom of the hill, Kaya smiles at her husband. While she wanted the large tent to be set up a little closer to the pool fence, he at least got it mostly right. "Hello my heart." Kaya greets Toru with a large smile. "Ah, my wonderful wife is home!" Toru exclaims making his way over to her and wrapping her into his arms and giving her a deep kiss.
"I hear your shadow is trying to perfect your old high school serve again." Kaya tells him with a smile. Toru shakes his head and looks over at the open field where the boys often play, his eyes landing on a tiny copy of himself.
"You know, when he was born and looked just like me, I never imagined he would also try to be just like me." He tells her with a soft laugh. "Please, all the boys look like you." Kaya counters. Toru shrugs, moving to put only one arm around her.
"I mean yeah, but Ichiro has your eyes and nose and Kota has your curls and smile. Souta looks like a damn clone." He tells her. Kaya laughs, looking over at her son. "Yeah well, I love all of our boys. Speaking of which, Ichiro is over babysitting duty and I didn't want Kota in the way down here, do you think you could go up and keep him company?" She asks hopefully.
Toru studies her for a moment, realizing she's politely asking him to get out of her way and let her do her thing. "I'm the CEO of the largest Tech Corporation in the southeast, I think I can handle one little mama's boy for a bit." He tells her with a grin, leaning in and kissing her cheek. "But don't be mad when he's crying that I beat him at Chutes and Ladders." He adds, taking off at a jog to head up to the house.
Kaya sets out to direct the event staff on where to place all the tables, chairs, heaters, and trash cans under the large party tent. They have her check that the dance floor is set up the way she'd like it to be before the DJ arrives to set up his equipment and she gives them the go ahead. An hour later she calls Souta away from the field and she rides back up to the house in the golf cart, letting Ichiro drive.
Kaya directs her two oldest sons to go to their rooms and shower and change, grateful that on day's the whole family needs to get ready everyone has their own bathroom. At first she thought Toru was going overboard wanting to buy a five bedroom five bath house when she was just barely pregnant with Ichiro, but now she was grateful for how helpful it often turns out to be.
Kota being too young to wash himself well, Kaya helps him to wash his hair in the tub and lets him wash his body since he insists he's a 'big boy.' After he's all cleaned up, Toru comes into his youngest son's room and tells Kaya he'll take over and for her to go get ready. Kaya kisses Toru and tells him she loves him before making her way to the master bedroom to get ready for the party.
An hour later, Kaya is ready and makes her way out to check on her boys. She holds back a tear when she sees Ichiro in his light blue suit, a pink shirt underneath and trying to push his hair back out of his face. "I think I need another haircut, mom. Stupid dad's genes and his naturally messy hair." He grouses.
Kaya laughs and wraps an arm around her son. "Girls like messy hair, son. But I can take you to the salon after school on Monday." She tells him, receiving a large smile from the teen.
Kota, hearing his mother's voice, took this as his que to exit his room and he stands in front of her happily. Kaya smiles at how cute he looks in his pink slacks and light blue button down shirt, his brown curls sitting atop his head neatly. "Mommy, you look so pretty." Kota gushes, his father coming up behind him. "Mommy is always pretty. She looks stunning right now though." Toru complements with a wink.
Ichiro makes a fake gagging sound and walks away from his parents, not wanting to be witness to their lovey dovey nature. Not that he was really complaining, plenty of his friends at school had parents who were divorced and he enjoyed knowing his parents were madly in love and rarely fought. But that didn't mean he wanted to watch them kissing all the time, it was gross.
"Get a room." Souta tells them, walking past and taking Kota by the hand to help him down the stairs. "I don't know what their problem is. How do they think they got here?" Toru teases when their children are downstairs and out of earshot. Kaya giggles and lifts up on her tiptoes to kiss him, the taste of his mouth causing her to moan. "We can say 'ew' to them when the start dating." Kaya suggests.
Toru laughs and takes a step back from his wife to take her in again. Her pink bubble dress with blue polka dots is very cute, and he loves the way she's put her hair into a messy bun with several curls falling loose around her shoulders. Kaya smiles at Toru, his suit matching their two oldest boys makes her take a mental note to get pictures of them all together later.
Kaya takes hold of Toru's hand and walks down the stairs with him, allowing him to go first while she's one step behind him. Ichiro watches his parents at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes narrowing at them in suspicion.
"What are you two not telling us?" He asks apprehensively. "I have no idea what you're talking about son." Toru tells him smugly at the main floor landing. "I've lived in this house for 13 years, don't think I don't notice the little things." Ichiro warns before turning and walking away.
Kaya chuckles behind her husband and looks up into his face when he turns to observe her. "Don't look at me, he gets that power of observation shit from you." She says laughing. Toru groans, rolling his eyes. "Why did I ever decide we should have kids if they're going to be little shits who call us out?" He complains, directing his gaze at his oldest's receding back. "Man, I couldn't be prouder." He sighs happily.
Kaya rubs Torus arm and leans into him, planting a kiss on his shoulder. "I moved your white flats down here earlier by the way. They are in the main garage shoe rack." Toru tells her. Kaya shakes her head, knowing there's no winning an argument to get him to let her wear the shoes she'd originally planned to wear and makes her way to the front door, having seen a car approaching the house.
Just on the other side of the door stands a familiar silver haired handsome 40 year old man. "Koushi, you're a little early." Kaya smiles. "Yeah well, the wife went to help with Ikigai getting ready and I was bored, so I thought I'd come see if y'all needed any help." He smiles at her. Kaya opens the door wider and welcomes him in, Koushi pulling her into a side hug. "It's good to see you." He tells her.
Kaya rubs his back before releasing the hug and smiles up at him. "It's good to see you too. The twins didn't want to come with you?" She asks, puzzled. "Uh, well actually they decided to go to their grandparents house this weekend. They said they didn't want to be around a bunch of strangers." He explains with an apologetic smile. Kaya smiles back at him with understanding.
Toru gives Koushi a friendly slap on the back and a gentle smile. "They did seem a little nervous around everyone at the wedding, but I'm sure they'll come around in time if they get to know everyone in small batches." He reassures him. "Anyway, how's married life treating you? I'm sure the twins are great with you at home." He tells him encouragingly.
Koushi gives Toru a warm smile and places his hand on his shoulder as well. "It's great actually. I love coming home to others. And the other day Kasumi asked me if she could become a Sugawara as well. I almost cried in front of her, but told her that would be something we all need to think about and agree on. Then she told me Kazuya was the one who'd brought it up but he was too shy to ask me about it. I cried for like half an hour in my room after." He tells them both, with a large smile on his face.
Toru's eyes show tears threatening to fall at the story, while Kaya full on sobs with her husband rubbing circles on her lower back. "That's so great Koushi. I'm glad the twins love you so much. Do you think their father would object?" She asks. "He gave up his parental rights years ago when he hoped he could sell them, so that wouldn't be a concern." Koushi informs them, everyone nodding solemnly.
Three years ago, Koushi had Kasumi in his class and she was struggling with math, so he reached out to her mom Akari to ask if he could keep her after school to study. At first she was unreceptive to the idea, but Kasumi's grades became worse and worse so she made an appointment to meet with Koushi and talk about her struggles of being able to get the time for Kasumi to come in for extra study time.
She was nervous and fidgeted a lot as she explained that she works two jobs in order to support the kids and that she couldn't possibly come pick her up after their study session. Koushi asked her if their father could help out, but noticed the way she cringed when he was brought up and quickly changed the topic to her parents instead. She told him she didn't have a good relationship with her parents and couldn't rely on them for help.
Wanting his student to get the help she needed, Koushi asked her if she would be ok with him keeping both twins after school and taking them home after. Though teachers aren't supposed to transport students, he hoped the circumstances and the fact her twin brother would be with them as well could allow him to get around this issue. Akari was really hesitant and then Koushi realized what the issue really was.
He told her about the after school program and that there was a scholarship program for those who couldn't afford it. He explained the children would be taken care of and given homework help in the cafeteria and she could pick them up at 6 PM. She was still slightly hesitant and he felt bad to realize that this woman was working all day while the kids were at school and late into the night, likely leaving them to have to feed themselves and get to bed on their own.
Koushi convinced her to let him speak to her parents and from there he learned that her parents stopped speaking to her years ago because she had started dating some guy in high school and the two started using heroin together. They tried to help their daughter, but after she stole and pawned her grandmother's jewels they told her to never speak to them again.
They were unaware that she'd gotten pregnant and decided to get clean for the sake of her unborn baby. Knowing this they were all too happy to come to the school and meet with Akari while the twins played and talk with her. They all apologized to each other and Akari's parents told her that she didn't need to worry anymore, that they would pick up the kids every day after school and keep them until she got off work.
At the end of the year, Kasumi soon no longer a student of Koushi's, he asked their mother to dinner. She didn't care that he was 12 years older than her, she had come to like and trust him and agreed to the date without a second concern. By the time summer break was over and he was going to be meeting a new class of students he and Akari we're an official couple.
They got married just six months ago and Akari was soon going to be graduating from tech school to become a phlebotomist, a move she was able to take thanks to the support from her parents and Koushi. The twins adored Koushi and loved having a father figure, never having really known their father much. As far as they knew he was just some guy who showed up sometimes and yelled at their mother and tried to get money from her.
Koushi and Toru went out to check on the welcoming table near the area they told people to park at while Kaya talked with the DJ to go over the program for the evening. Soon Hajime's car pulled up and the birthday girl climbed out of the car, her long grey locks around her shoulders and her olive eyes shining as they looked over the party area in amazement. "Wow." She gasps out.
Kaya looks at her goddaughter and feels tears coming down her face. The teen was wearing her first ever 'grown up dress,' a strapless floor-length, A line pink and blue ombre gown with a mid-thigh split on the right leg. "Ikigai, you look so beautiful." Kaya gushes, the young girl smiling wide at her. "Don't cry aunt Kaya." She pleads, wrapping her into a hug. "You'll make me cry." She finishes.
Hajime stands behind the two watching with a small smile. "I already cried before we left the house." He tells them, soliciting a laugh from everyone around them. Kaya greets Hajime with a hug and then takes Ikigai around to show her the setup for her party. Soon Toru and Koushi step next to Hajime and watch the women walking around. "Wow, our little girl's all grown up." Toru coos.
Koushi watches in stunned silence, unable to believe his dear niece is already 16 years old. "Wasn't she just running in my kitchen naked covered in spaghetti?" He asks, choking up. Hajime hits Koushi hard on the back. "Stop man, I don't want to cry again." He scolds.
Koushi nods, holding back his tears and smiles widely when a thought occurs to him. "How was the driving test this morning?" He asks. Hajime gives a thumbs up. "Thanks to the practiced patience of her favorite uncle's teaching, she aced it. Didn't even so much as graze a cone when she parallel parked." He tells them proudly.
"I'm her favorite uncle." Toru pouts, the other two men looking at him like he's crazy. "Fine, I'm her second favorite uncle. Geez, at least Hoshi loves me best." He complains, crossing his arms. Hajime shakes his head lightly. "You're just still sad because you don't have a daughter. That doesn't mean you can get everyone else's daughters to have you be the favorite uncle." Hajime tells him haughtily.
"Yeah well, a man can want a little girl of his own can't he? Don't get me wrong, I love the boys. But I've always wanted a little girl to dote on." He tells them.
Koushi just chuckles and looks around. "Is this not doting? You literally dote on Kaya constantly and give Ikigai and Hoshi everything they want. Even Sora and Mina are showered in love by you. I'm not sure you need a daughter, she'd be spoiled to the core." He laughs. "Nobody asked you." Toru spits out as Hajime and Koushi laugh at him and Hikari's car pulls in with their son Hideaki in the backseat and Akari in the passenger seat.
Kaya and Ikigai approach the car just as everyone gets out with smiles on their faces. "Wow Kaya, you really outdid yourself this time." Akari says, looking around at the scenery. "These are the things Ikigai said she wanted." Kaya responds. "Yeah, but did she really need an ice sculpture of the number 16?" Hikari asks. Kaya laughs. "She said it in front of my dear husband, we all know how he is." She responds, the other women quickly agreeing.
Not long after, other guests started to arrive. Most of the guest list was family, though Ikigai did invite two girls she knew from school and one boy who'd been a friend of hers since they were five. Hoshi blended seamlessly into the group of Ikigai's friends. Being so close in age, the girls did always tend to cling to one another at large family functions and they were now really close as teens.
Everyone happily talked and ate their meals under the tent, the heaters helping to stave off the mid-February chill. Most of the kids had someone else to hang out with near their own age from Ichiro and his cousin Itsuki, Kaname and Kosuke's son, to Souta and Hideaki with only a few months between them. However, Kota had no one his own age to play with and found himself wandering and being cooed over by the teen girls at the party and his grandparents.
Kenichi was all too happy to play with his youngest grandson, and had more recently come to accept that Kota was it for any little Oikawa's he could expect to have around as Kaya had always said she didn't want more than three kids, Tama's husband Tatsuya was unable to have kids, and Takeru told everyone he was asexual. Though he'd hoped Kota would be a girl since he had no granddaughter's he still loved the boy just as much as the others.
After dinner, Hajime thanked everyone for coming and said a few words about how much he loves Ikigai and that he was happy she had the sweet 16 she'd been dreaming of. He raised a toast to the birthday girl, the minor's having sparkling grape juice in pink flutes while the adults had sparkling wine in blue flutes. Ichiro eyed his mother closely when he spotted her pink flute, but said nothing.
After the toast Ikigai opened her gifts from her family. Her friends had already given her various teddy bears, clothes, and gift cards at school the day before. Miki and Asa had given her a white gold necklace with a diamond '16' pendant. Shira and Haru gave her a new pink and blue luggage set. Koushi gifted her a star named after her. Mina and Kenichi gave her a $500 visa gift card. Toru and Kaya gave her plane tickets to Orlando, a card with details of an air BnB already paid for, and Universal Studios tickets. And her parents saved their gift for last, a brand new pink electric Honda Civic.
Ikigai was very touched by all of her gifts, though everyone couldn't help but feel the big hug and kiss to the cheek she'd given to Koushi really showcased just how much she loved her uncle and loved anything he ever did for her. She took Hajimi and Koushi with her for a quick drive up to the gate and back in her new car and beamed at her parents when she returned, giving them both a large hug.
After the excitement died down, she joined Hajime on the dance floor and kicked off her heels to the side. "Isn't she lovely." By Stevie Wonder started to play and everyone watched the two dancing with large smiles and Kaya sobbed as silently as she could. Toru still noticed and moved next to his wife and rubbed her back as he started to tear up and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek.
At the finish of the song, several others went to the dance floor as well, everyone enjoying their time and dancing happily. Just after it grew dark everyone started leaving one by one. Hoshi went home with Ikigai and the two other girls in her new car, the girls having already planned a sleepover at her house. Kaya makes sure the event vendors have all that they need and heads back into the house.
She finds Souta and Hideaki playing video games in the living room, a warm smile on her face happy they could help give the girls privacy for their sleepover by having Hideaki stay with them tonight instead of going home. Kota had already been carried into the house and put to bed by Kenichi about 30 minutes prior as he'd grown very tired. Toru was still busy outside saying his goodbyes to the others.
Ichiro saw his mother when she'd passed him in the kitchen and he was helping himself to a glass of tea. He sat his drink down and went to greet her at the stairs, taking her hand and walking up with her. Kaya smiles at her oldest at the top of the stairs and gives him a hug. "I guess the jig is up, huh?" She asks softly. Ichiro simply unwraps himself from his mother and smiles at her. "I won't tell dad you picked Kota up earlier." He promises.
Kaya chuckles guiltily and gives her son an appreciative nod. "Thanks, he'd be pissed." She tells him, cupping his cheek and admiring his sweet face before she turns to head towards her room and get changed. "Mom." Ichiro calls to her. "Yeah sweetie?" Kaya asks, turning to face him. "I'm really happy. Don't make me keep the secret too much longer though, please." He pleads. Kaya smiles at him and nods once. "Not much longer now, promise." She tells him before turning again.
Kaya takes off her dress and takes a fast shower, stepping out and changing into a pair of leggings and one of Toru's tee shirts. She sits on the bed and picks up a book from the side table, starting to read it while she waits for Toru to come up to bed. When he enters the room she's deep into the story she's reading and he showers and changes into a pair of pajama pants before getting on the bed with her.
Toru pulls up the shirt Kaya is wearing and kisses her stomach several times. "You have no idea how hard it was for me not to talk about you all night sweet baby girl." He whispers to Kaya's slightly swollen stomach. "Ichiro figured it out." She tells him. Toru smiles wide and looks up at his wife. "Of course he did. The apple didn't fall from the tree. The question is does he know it's finally a sister?" He asks.
Kaya shook her head, "I kept that to myself. I think he'll be upset when he realizes I'm 17 weeks and they are just now being told." Kaya worries. "Yeah well, it can't be helped. Those home tests kept giving you a false negative and we only just went to the doctor yesterday. I'm just glad they did an ultrasound and saw that you're so far along. It's good we kept the focus on Ikigai though. We can announce the baby next weekend." He reasons.
Kaya nods, running her fingers through Toru's soft brown locks. "I love you so much." She tells him with a smile. "I love you too beautiful. Thank you for being willing to try one more time for a girl." He tells her, kissing her stomach again. "This is the best thing you've ever given me." He tells her happily, gently hugging her bump. "You're the one who gave her to me." Kaya laughs, leaving Toru to roll his eyes.
"At least this one will have someone at family functions. Koushi told me not to tell anyone but Akari is pregnant too. 10 weeks!" He tells her excitedly. "If he said not to tell anyone why are you telling me?" Kaya scolds. "You're not anyone, you're my wife. If he thinks I keep secrets from you he's not as smart as I thought he was." Toru tells her resolutely. Kaya giggles and pulls his chin up to make him face her.
"Is the door locked?" She asks. "Yeah, why?" Toru counters. "Because my heart, I want you to make me whimper into the pillow." She tells him with a wink. "Fuuuck, I never get sick of doing that." He tells her, rising onto his hands and knees to kiss her lips. "I'm going to make you feel so damn good Mrs. Oikawa." He whispers in her ear, tugging at her leggings.