"YESSSSSS-!!!!!!!!"
"Siuuuuuuuuuu-!!!"
The large broadcast van was parked in front of the mansion where the Kaoru-Ai couple lived.
Inside it, two producers who had been directing the shoot and watching the monitors both shot up from their chairs and hugged each other.
"The baby! How! Are! Made! Kitchen cameras 14 through 18, keep focusing!"
"The baby! How! Are! Made? Cameras 3 through 8 in the living room, all of you zoom in on the sofa! Zoom in! Zoom in! OK!"
Grinning from ear to ear, the producers bounced their shoulders in a little dance and gave crisp orders to the filming crew over their radios.
-
"...A baby?"
Kaoru’s blue eyes lost focus for a moment as he stared into space.
His youngest daughter was right in front of him, and yet his gaze seemed to be looking not at her, but somewhere beyond the universe.
As for Ame, who had just knocked down the most famous man in Japan with a single question—
"Hmm? Daddy~"
She only smiled with the same face as her mother. An innocent expression, pure as clean, clear eyes.
Kaoru had completely forgotten that every flustered expression on his face was being captured by the camera.
"Think, think. Think. Think. Think. Kaoru. Think!"
With a level of concentration that couldn’t even compare to when he had named Ame, he desperately searched for an answer to her question.
He dug through all the memories of both his past life and his present life, recalled every related piece of information, and thought hard about how to explain it in a way Ame could understand easily.
Storks bring them! Or, We found them under a bridge! Or, If you hold hands while sleeping, a baby appears! Answers like that could get him through this moment, but if he thought about the future, they were not good options.
"What matters most is solving Ame’s curiosity."
Kaoru, who had already learned from parenting books and educational videos before the twins were even born that children start becoming seriously curious about sex at around age four, calmly adjusted his hold on Ame and only then looked around.
"But... there are too many cameras to start from the basics."
This was the first time Ame had ever asked about something like this. He had to explain it, yes... but that didn’t mean he could go through every step of the lesson in front of the cameras.
They could edit it out during final review, but... honestly, a father’s heart was a different matter.
Accepting that the situation he was in was less than ideal, Kaoru decided to make use of Ame’s curiosity in reverse, explain things as gently as possible for now, and resume the lesson again as soon as he could.
Having finished his fierce internal struggle as a father in just a few seconds, Kaoru unconsciously wiped the sweat from his forehead with his right hand and smiled.
"H-Hahaha! Hmm~ What does Ame think a baby is made from?"
"Uuuuuuu~"
When Daddy asked back, Ame tilted her head and blinked her starlit eyes.
She didn’t know, but since Daddy had asked, the four-year-old girl tried her best to answer with all the imagination she had.
"Ah~!"
She remembered something she had once learned from a picture book at kindergarten: that seeds form inside flower buds and fall to the ground, or float along on the wind like dandelion seeds and sprout there.
Ame smiled brightly and said,
"If Mommy and Daddy~ um~ plant a seed~ in the ground~ then flowers and babies come out~?"
"Flowers? Hahaha!"
At his daughter’s adorable, creative answer—showing the very best imagination a four-year-old could muster—Kaoru let out an exclamation and laughed, then stroked her purple hair.
"That’s right. Just like Ame thinks, Daddy has a seed that can make a baby. That seed is called sperm.
When Mommy and Daddy share their love, that seed called sperm flies over to Mommy with a whoosh~ and if it joins with the egg inside the uterus in Mommy’s belly, a baby is made.
Just like when you plant a seed in the ground and wait, and then a flower blooms beautifully."
"Woooooow~!?"
Surprised that her own imagination—that babies are made by planting seeds like flowers—had turned out to be right, and awed by the mystery of learning for the first time that babies grow in Mommy’s belly, Ame’s starlit eyes sparkled as she—
couldn’t close her mouth!
With her eyes shining, Ame pointed at herself and said,
"Then~ um~ Ame is a flower too~?"
At Ame’s words, Kaoru’s heart suddenly swelled with emotion, and he burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! That’s right. Ame is a beautiful, cute baby flower. So beautiful that Daddy would want to hide our Ame away forever."
"Heeheehee-★"
As Kaoru and Ame cuddled and chatted in the living room, Ai, who was slicing tomatoes for sandwiches in the kitchen, turned her starlit eyes toward them.
"What is it~? What is it~ what is it~? What’s so funny~?"
Ame, still in Kaoru’s arms, shouted loudly toward the kitchen, bursting with excitement.
"Mommy~! Ame is a pretty flower!!"
At her lovable youngest daughter’s happy laughter, Ai’s starlit eyes also sparkled as she called back,
"Kyahhhhh~♥ Of course! Our Ame is such a pretty, love-filled flower! Mommy is so happy to have given birth to our little flower Ame~?"
"Mommy~!!"
"Yes~?"
"Um~ but~ in Mommy’s belly~ um~ what are the ‘uterus’ and~ um~ the ‘egg’~?"
"Eh-!?"
For a moment, silence fell.
Realizing his mistake, Kaoru quietly closed his eyes.
Four years old....
This was the age when the endless hell of "What’s that?" questions would be in full swing, and he had completely failed to anticipate Ame’s innocent barrage of whys.
With Ame suddenly throwing out an unexpected question while he was slicing tomatoes, Ai was caught off guard—
"Th-that... um... it’s like Ame’s original, where she lived...?! In the house—no, inside the house—inside the uterus—cell... that... Kaoru?!"
Her face bright red from panic, Ai desperately tried to answer her little daughter, but in the end she called out to her husband as if reaching for help before sinking.
"..."
Kaoru felt the world go distant again.
-
While tremendous things were happening in the living room and kitchen, Aqua and Ruby were glancing at the many cameras installed in the spacious room.
To be exact, Ruby was the one paying especially close attention to the cameras.
"Hmph-hmph~★"
She solved math workbook problems she never usually even looked at,
"Yah~★"
she neatly tidied the bed and blanket, which she normally skipped over without a care,
"Hoo~★"
and she had even prepared a yoga mat at some point, laying it on the floor and stretching while putting on a full image-management performance.
At the sight of Ruby’s sparkling, over-the-top behavior—
Aqua, who had been casually reading a book as usual, could only fail to keep his expression under control and stare blankly at his little sister’s antics.
Ruby... no. That is absolutely not a good move...!
He wanted to shout that, but there were too many cameras, so Aqua couldn’t open his mouth either.
His beloved little sister was putting so much effort into managing her image....
Of course, if it was for the sake of helping Ruby realize her dream someday, it was a worthwhile attempt, but if she kept building up this obedient, diligent Ruby image, then sooner or later—?!
"Uchcha~★"
"!?"
After finishing her stretching, Ruby rolled up the yoga mat and tucked it under the bookshelf, then walked lightly over and sat on Aqua’s lap as he read, spreading her arms wide to hug her brother.
Aqua, who had been holding his book, quickly set it on the desk and patted his sister’s back.
"Big brother~☆"
"Ugh—Ruby—"
This was Ruby’s usual behavior. No, at least in this moment, it was behavior that came from Ruby’s true feelings.
But Aqua still found the sight of the many cameras filming them awkward and unfamiliar.
He worried that the soft-hearted Ruby might end up looking like a spoiled little sister clinging to her brother for attention.
Still, at this age... weren’t there no older brothers who disliked their little sisters being affectionate?
With a slight smile, Aqua gently stroked Ruby’s hair and nodded.
"Heehee—Big brother~!"
"What is it?"
"When are you going to get me a math tutor~? You said Ruby was busy today~?"
"..."
He really had to stop her!
As the warning lights finally came on in Aqua’s head over Ruby’s endless character-setting performance, he gave an awkward smile and said,
"But, Ruby. Wouldn’t it be nice to spend today just having fun with me, Ame, and Mom and Dad, with no plans at all?"
"Eh~?"
At the sincerity in Aqua’s blue eyes, Ruby blinked blankly.
She had thought her brother would definitely join her grand plan, and when her idea was blocked, she stared at Aqua with a stunned expression for a moment.
Why—!
Whyyy!
"If I don’t do this, I can’t become famous or get recognized!"
Ruby puffed out her cheeks and shot a silent glare at Aqua, and Aqua let out a soft sigh, then gently cupped both of Ruby’s cheeks in his hands and said,
"Ruby shines brightest when she’s being Ruby. To me, Ruby is always someone who shines."
"..."
"Instead of tutoring, let’s have fun together today, okay?"
Ruby’s trembling starlit eyes filled with her brother.
As for the image people saw of her, that didn’t matter at all.
Nothing moved people’s hearts like Ruby’s bright, cheerful everyday self, full of sincerity.
Just hearing someone say that while looking at her exactly as she was—Ruby felt the tension in her chest ease all at once, and a bright smile spread across her face.
Ruby shines brightest when she’s being Ruby!
With a starlit smile filled with affection, Ruby once again spread both arms wide and hugged her brother with all her strength.
"Kyaaaah~! Big broooother~! Ruby really—really—really—likes you~♥"
"Whoa!"
The chair nearly tipped backward, but still...
Aqua wiped away cold sweat and smiled as he patted Ruby’s tightly hugged back.
No matter how many cameras were watching...
Ruby was his precious little sister.
"Aqua, Ruby. Come eat breakfast. It’s sandwiches."
At their father’s voice calling from the living room, Ruby quickly slipped out of her brother’s arms and shouted with sparkling eyes,
"Yesss~☆ Let’s go, big brother! It’s sandwiches!"
"Sure."
Ruby grabbed her brother’s hand and trotted out of the room.
And the two producers watching that on the monitor...
"YESSSSSS-!!!!!!!!"
"Siuuuuuuuuuu-!!!"
After the Kaoru-Ai couple and little Ame, the Aqua-Ruby siblings had scored another pair of heartwarming, adorable, sibling-love-filled home runs, and the producers hugged each other and bounced around wildly.
Unfortunately, the Americano they had been drinking spilled onto the floor—but
"All right! Zoom in on every camera in the kitchen!"
that didn’t matter.
From here on out, the true value of this star family was only just beginning!
The two producers, unable to hide their intense excitement, instinctively knew it.
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