The especially cold winter passed, and spring arrived.
The three siblings started the new school term and spent their days happily while waiting for the coming semester.
After their wedding anniversary passed, the new semester began.
"I’m going to have a little sibling soon! They say the baby might be born in June, the same month as my birthday. I want to meet my sibling quickly. When my sister and brother come home, they wash their hands first and run straight to Mom.
Dad hugs me and says he’s lonely, but Dad isn’t the one giving birth to the baby, so I think it’s only natural for him to help Mom more."
Wahaha!
"……."
Kaoru, attending Ame’s new-semester parent observation class in place of his nearly full-term wife, let out a quiet, awkward laugh at the applause and laughter from the other parents around him.
Because she read so much, Ame’s writing ability was far above that of other children her age, and she smiled mischievously when she saw her father’s reaction.
"But everyone in our family knows Dad’s complaints aren’t sincere.
From early morning until late at night. You’re busy with work and must be tired, but Dad becomes Mom’s hands and feet when she’s too full to move comfortably.
He massages Mom’s hands and feet, cooks for her himself, and handles the housework together with my sister and brother. Dad is the all-purpose problem solver in our house.
I hope my sibling is born soon so Dad can rest with Mom. And... I hope he plays with us more too."
Clap clap clap-
The applause of her classmates and the parents echoed through the classroom.
Kaoru took a few steps forward and waved to Ame, who had finished her presentation and was returning to her seat.
"Dad~! Hehe-!"
"My little one. You did so well. Hehehe- Dad will play with you more."
"Mm-hmm! I love you, Dad!"
Kaoru bent his knees and pulled his adorable youngest daughter, who ran into his arms, close and kissed her on the cheek.
Feeling her father’s gentle, warm hand stroking her long purple hair, so much like her mother’s, Ame bloomed into a happy smile in his broad embrace.
By the end of April, both Ai and Miyako were showing quite a large belly. As for their due dates, Miyako was diagnosed as being about a month later than Ai, sometime in July.
For Miyako, who was experiencing everything for the first time, every part of pregnancy was inevitably clumsier than Ai’s.
"Uuuhh- augh-!"
Miyako, who had just come back from the bathroom, sat down on the sofa with a groan.
With her belly so big, even going to the bathroom had become exhausting. Even though she had always been meticulous about taking care of herself, by the later stages of pregnancy she could feel every part of her body creaking.
Miyako tied her hair back tightly again with a hair tie, wiped away her sweat, and leaned her head against the sofa.
When she came back from the bathroom, Ai, who had been chatting just a moment ago, was nowhere to be seen.
"Huaaah~!"
Ruby came out of the kitchen after drinking a strong glass of milk, and Miyako asked,
"Ruby~ where did Mama go?"
"Mama? She suddenly got a call and went to answer it! It must be Aunt Nino."
"Ah, I see. Well, it is about time for those girls to become mothers too..."
Miyako smiled as she rubbed her swollen belly. Ai had gotten pregnant early, and Miyako had gotten pregnant later; that was all. For the members too, it was the time when most of them were settling down and having their first babies.
Since she had kept in steady contact with the members just like Ai, Miyako had long since figured out that they were extremely curious about the condition of her and Ai’s bodies during pregnancy.
They asked about all sorts of things—what the body felt like, what they should prepare and be ready for, whether it hurt, and so on—since they were all preparing to have babies soon.
By now she was even getting tired of answering, so Miyako told them this:
If you’re scared, just go ahead and have one quickly, and you’ll find out for yourselves!
"Heheh-"
"Miyaemon! Want me to massage your hands?"
"Hehe- Sure. Please do."
Looking into Ruby’s sparkling red starry eyes, Miyako smiled with satisfaction and gladly held out her left hand.
Sometimes her hands and feet went numb and swelled, so Miyako often soaked them in warm water and got massages from Ichigo.
Since Ruby was offering to massage her, how could she not feel touched?
"Hee- Your hands are warm."
"Yours are warm too. Wow, your hands are so soft. Youth really is the best."
"Miyaemon’s hands are soft too?"
"That’s because I use hand cream. You’re not wearing any, are you?"
"Right!"
Ruby burst into giggles and slowly, carefully massaged Miyako’s hand with her white, slender fingers.
Her strength was weaker than Ichigo’s, but that made the soothing touch all the more pleasant as it worked through every corner. Miyako let out a languid breath.
"This feels nice."
"Eh! Right, right? It feels good, doesn’t it?"
"Ruby, you’re really good at this. Do you do this a lot for Mom too?"
"Only once in a while? Mom doesn’t seem to get swelling or numbness in her hands! I just do it because I want to~"
"……."
Was this the strength of a veteran mother who had given birth to four children? Thinking back, Ai had never even gotten the common stretch marks.
She had only heard that when she was pregnant with the twins and her belly grew as huge as Mt. Fuji, she used stretch-mark cream, but when she was pregnant with Ame she didn’t even use that.
Still, her stomach was pale and her skin smooth, like a teenage girl’s. Was youth really the best? Miyako had slathered herself with stretch-mark cream, so she hadn’t gotten many stretch marks, but who knew what would happen right before birth.
Thinking about how busy she’d be going around for care and treatment, Miyako suddenly felt depressed!
"Sigh..."
"Why are you sighing, Miyaemon! Little Ryu in your belly will worry about you."
"Yeah. I shouldn’t be sighing... but the sigh just comes out..."
Ruby stared at Miyako for a moment, then took Miyako’s other hand and massaged it as she asked,
"...Is it really hard? Is that why you’re sighing?"
"Hmm... I can’t say... it isn’t hard. It is hard. Imagine having three watermelons stuffed in your belly all day, 24 hours a day, and moving around with them. You sweat, you get out of breath when you walk, even sitting down is hard, and you can’t even eat properly~"
Ruby, who had been imagining it with a very serious face, finished the simulation, stroked her chin, and nodded.
"Mm...!!! Y-yeah, that might be really uncomfortable?!"
"Heheh~ So you have to always listen to Mom and be good to her. You’re not the only one in there, you know—your brother too. She carried two babies in her belly at such a young age. One baby is hard enough, but twins... Ahh... I really couldn’t even dream of it."
At Miyako’s words, Ruby quietly turned her gaze to the family photo hanging on the wall and smiled softly.
"Yeah... that’s why I’m so, so grateful to Mom. For giving birth to me and my brother when she was only a little older than me. I’m so, so thankful to Mom and Dad every single day!"
"Hehe. Ruby-chan~ you’re such a good girl~"
"Uhihi."
At Miyako’s hand stroking her hair, Ruby smiled with baby-hamster-like affection.
Holding Miyako’s right hand tightly, Ruby gently rubbed her swollen belly.
"I hope Ryu-chan is born soon too."
Miyako nodded and rubbed her own belly along with her.
She had watched childbirth videos on YouTube because she was scared of the pain of giving birth, and her algorithm had become completely filled with related videos.
Just imagining childbirth made her endlessly afraid.
But she wanted to see her child soon. She wanted to hold them in her arms and feel their warmth as soon as possible.
Miyako wanted to become a mother as soon as she could.
"Ryu-chan... I want to see you soon."
As if responding to her mother’s warm voice, Ryu-chan gave a small kick.
-
Time passed, and it was the evening of June 12.
After Ame’s birthday was celebrated and Kaoru’s film was one month away from release, Ai was admitted to the obstetrics hospital where she had given birth to Ame before.
As false labor became more frequent and the due date drew near, Ai accepted the doctor’s recommendation for hospitalization as she had before and was admitted to the hospital.
Having already gone through one twin birth and one singleton birth, Ai was now lying on the bed with such ease that she absentmindedly fiddled with the IV in the back of her hand.
"Uu~ I’m bored!"
"B-bored? Really?"
"Mm! I’m bored!"
At his wife’s sulky face and voice... Kaoru, blankly brushing back his brilliant blond hair,
"Pffft—kekekekaha!"
burst out laughing and clutched his stomach.
Even at the very moment she was about to become the mother of four children, his wife was still unmistakably his wife.
Meanwhile, he himself was still in a state of constant tension, just as he had been with the twins and with Ame!
But if anything, that was a relief. The more relaxed his wife was, the more at ease Kaoru felt.
And then, at 8 a.m. on June 14, two days later.
"Sir! I—"
"I’m coming in!"
The only one who had become used to childbirth was Ai. Kaoru was the same.
Now as naturally as a nurse, Kaoru put on sterile scrubs, a surgical cap, a mask, and gloves, and entered the delivery room to watch Ai give birth at her side.
"Yes! You’re doing great! You’re doing great!"
"Hngh! Huuuu— huuuh! Hngh! Haaah—!"
As soon as he went in, his wife was indeed straining and letting out pained groans.
No matter how used to it one became, childbirth was still childbirth. But the fact that the total time required for the whole process had been cut almost in half compared to when Ame was born showed that—
"Ai!"
Kaoru had already come in, and the one who was actually startled was Ai.
She had only just started labor, and Kaoru was already inside, so her tear-filled starry eyes were full of confusion, wondering what was going on.
"Kaoruu!? Huuuh! Nghh—!"
"You’re doing great! Focus, breathe— focus, breathe! Just hold on a little longer, Ai!"
"Yes! You’re doing great! The head is coming out!"
"Grrrnh—! Huhuuu—! Haa! Haa! Haa!"
With all her strength, she pushed, and just like when she gave birth to the twins and Ame, there was that sensation of a huge egg slipping out from inside her body—
"Waaaaah! Waaah! Waaaah-!"
A powerful cry echoed through the delivery room.
Now with enough strength left to wipe her own tears, Ai smiled as she watched the fourth child’s umbilical cord being cut.
All she wanted was to hold the child she had carried for ten months as soon as possible. The happiest gift in the world for her beloved youngest daughter.
Wiping away tears soaked with joy, delight, and boundless happiness, Ai surrendered herself to her husband’s hand stroking her hair.
"You really worked hard. Ai. Thank you so much for safely giving birth to our fourth child too."
From a family that had once been just the two of them, to the twins, Ame, and now little Tama-chan who had just been born, they now had no fewer than four children.
Wishing that they would become each other’s support—
the nurse carefully brought over the baby wrapped in medical cloth and placed the child in Ai’s arms, saying,
"Congratulations. It’s a healthy baby boy!"
"Ahh... hello? I’m your mom~ It’s nice to meet you, our little Tama-chan."
"Waaah! Waaahhh-!!"
Unlike with Ame, Tama-chan let out a loud cry befitting a baby boy. Unlike his older brother Aqua, the youngest son had inherited dark purple hair that resembled her own—
Ai, with tears in her eyes, quietly hugged Tama-chan close and whispered,
"Tama-chan’s... real name is..."
Kaoru, looking into Ai’s starry eyes that had met his with a hopeful expression, smiled and nodded.
With Kaoru’s final approval, Ai’s starry smile sparkled as she spoke to her youngest son, who was crying, "Waaah, waaah."
"Hoshino Amber. It’s a pretty name, isn’t it? Thank you for coming to Mom. ‘Amber’-chan."
"Waaah- waaah~!"
Ai had given her youngest son the English word for the birthstone 「amber」 as his name.
Originally, it was a name more commonly given to girls in the West, but... it had been impossible to change Ai’s mind in the first place.
Still... the name itself was pretty, and it was true that her youngest son was unbelievably beautiful.
Kaoru looked down at the wrinkled little youngest son wriggling in his mother’s arms with eyes dripping with love.
June 14. A morning of clear skies and bright sunlight.
The fourth miracle to arrive for Kaoru, Ai, and the twins and Ame—the Hoshino family.
『Hoshino Amber』 had finally been born into the world.
-
Once their youngest son was born, the twins and Ame gathered closely together, heads touching, and stared fixedly at Amber, who had fallen asleep after drinking milk.
Especially Ame, who had wanted a younger sibling the most, had starry eyes that sparkled as she couldn’t take them off Amber for even a moment.
"Waaah...! Amber-chan is so cute..."
Now that she was a big sister, Ame wriggled her hands and stomped her feet, clearly wanting to hold Amber.
Watching her, Aqua smiled warmly and stroked Ame’s head.
Remembering the first time he had seen Ame, Aqua once again recalled how happy he himself had been when Ame was born.
"Big bro!!! Hey! My hair color and your hair color are the same, and Ame and Amber’s hair color is the same! 2 + 2 = 4! That’s amazing!"
Ruby shouted in an excited voice, holding up a V sign with her index and middle fingers on both hands.
"Ah. Come to think of it, you’re right."
"Eh! Right! Amber and I have the same hair color as Mom! Big sis and big bro have the same hair color as Dad! Wow! Amazing!"
"Right?!"
As expected, Mama was amazing. She had even grouped the siblings by hair color! Ruby, her starry eyes sparkling, waved her hands just like Ame and shouted,
"Hurry up and start walking, Amber. This big sister will spoil you lots and lots!"
"Me too, me too!"
Seeing Ruby and Ame already showing such passionate love for Amber...
Aqua smiled fondly and said, looking at Amber,
"If your sisters bully you, tell your big brother. I’ll run away with you."
Aqua couldn’t quite bring himself to promise that he would scold his beloved little sisters.
"Hehe★ Seeing the babies makes me feel weirdly full."
"Really?"
Ai, taking in the sight of the three siblings huddled together looking at the youngest, leaned her head against her husband’s shoulder and said,
Kaoru, who was sitting with her on the sofa in the hospital room, held his wife’s hand tightly.
"Miyako-san is giving birth next month too, right?"
"Mm. Her due date is in July. But Miya-chan... I’m worried because she’s so worried. Even after the boss left earlier, she kept asking me by message. She kept worrying, asking what if it hurts!!!"
"Hahaha. Childbirth is definitely not easy. Since it’s her first birth, it makes sense that she’d be worried."
"So I told her not to worry and to trust Ryu-chan! I even told her that if it came to it, she should grab the boss by the hair! But Miya-chan said she absolutely would."
Ai stuck out her tongue a little and burst into a grin.
She had been joking because she’d remembered a scene from a drama, but Miyako seemed to be worrying about it much more seriously than expected.
At this rate, the boss’s hair really might all get pulled out.
Kaoru, letting out a dry laugh, nodded and said,
"It’s fine. He’s got plenty, so it’ll grow back quickly. He should be prepared for that much if he’s going to have a late baby."
"Heheh- Right! Uu~ I want to see Ryu-chan soon too!"
Ai stretched out and then wrapped her arms around Kaoru’s arm again, resting her head on his shoulder.
Imagining Amber and Ryu-chan playing together in the not-too-distant future—
-
July came rushing in.
Miyako, whose due date was now right around the corner, was admitted to the same single VIP room where Ai had stayed.
Along with Ichigo, Kaoru and Ai, holding Amber in her arms, were there too. The three of them soothed Miyako, who was wrapped in anxiety.
"Miya-chan! You don’t have to be so nervous! It hurts, sure, but if you want to give birth to Ryu-chan, you’ve got to go, ‘Oof!’ and push through it!"
"Hehehe... th-thank you. It’s just— I’m, I’m a little nervous. It’s partly because of the false labor pain, but... on YouTube—"
"Haa. I should have taken her smartphone and hidden it somewhere."
At his wife’s words, Ichigo shook his head as if he couldn’t believe it and muttered to himself.
In this age of information overload, seeing firsthand how too much unnecessary information could create fear was not a very pleasant feeling.
Kaoru pointed at Ichigo’s abundant hair and said in a serious voice,
"They say grabbing a big handful and yanking hard isn’t actually a bad method."
"...Who says that?"
"Shohei, my friend. Aqua looked it up in a book too, and it said the same thing."
"No. Hah, seriously! Why are you idiots messing with other people’s hair????"
"Boss!"
At Miyako’s shout, Ichigo flinched and grabbed her hand.
"Uh, yeah?! What?! Is Ryu-chan coming out!?"
"No! Th-that... if I... if I’m really in so much pain that I pull your hair... you won’t get mad at me later, right?"
"Pfft!"
"Kkhh!"
Ai and Kaoru both turned away at the same time, unable to hold back their laughter.
But Miyako was utterly serious.
Seeing Ichigo’s dazed expression, Miyako took it negatively and let out a furious catlike screech while pointing at him.
"You don’t like that?! Huh?! Who do you think is going through all this trouble for this!!! If anything happens to Ryu-chan, I won’t let you off!!!"
"O-okay! Calm down! You can pull out all my hair and eyebrows for all I care, just stay healthy! Please, just give birth safely and come back. I’ll do anything you want. Okay?"
"Sniff... y-you promise...?"
"Yeah. You know I don’t say one thing and do another. So don’t worry. You’ve got this."
Ichigo held Miyako’s trembling hand and patted it, soothing her as best he could.
At this rate... it really did seem like all his hair might get pulled out.
Saito Ichigo’s ominous premonition came true.
On the third full day after being admitted to the hospital, on July 14, exactly one month after Amber was born, just after the late night had passed and dawn was almost breaking.
"The cervix is open. We’ll take you straight to the delivery room!"
After hours of painful labor, Miyako could barely speak as she hurried to the delivery room, crying out in pain.
Since the start of labor, Ichigo had washed his hair twice with antibacterial shampoo in advance in case of any accident, and now he stood beside Kaoru with his hands clasped together in prayer.
He didn’t even believe in God, but Ichigo was finding himself searching for God’s existence for the first time. Please let her give birth safely.
"Don’t worry too much. She’s a strong woman. She’ll get through this."
"...Yeah. She’s strong. I believe in her."
At Kaoru’s encouragement, patting his shoulder, Ichigo swallowed dryly and nodded.
Part of him thought that Kaoru was incredible for having gone through this blood-chilling time three times already. The couple really were superhuman in many ways.
And so, for an hour that felt almost like eternity, Ichigo paced back and forth without even being able to sit down, burning with anxiety.
Leaning against the wall and letting out a sigh, he suddenly saw a nurse rush out of the delivery room looking for him.
"Sir! Sir!"
"Yes, yes!"
He hurriedly raised a hand to the nurse calling for him, and after being told that the birth seemed imminent, he headed straight for the delivery room.
Leaving Kaoru’s encouragement behind, Ichigo rushed into the delivery room so frantically he barely knew what was happening.
"Aaaahhh! Kkhhh!"
"M-Miyako!"
"Uuuuuugh!!! B-boss- hhhhk!"
To Miyako, who was crying tears and screaming in pain, Ichigo ripped off the sterile surgical cap he was wearing and pointed at his hair as he shouted,
"Pull it! Pull it out and keep going!!!!"
"Kyaaaaaaah!!"
"Ghk!?"
Seizing the moment, his wife raised both hands and yanked at his hair with such terrifying strength that Ichigo nearly screamed from the pain of having his soul pulled out too—but—
"I-I can see the head! Just a little more! Push a little more!"
The effect was undeniable.
The baby really was coming out well!
Ichigo clenched his teeth and endured his wife’s merciless grip. Even if every last strand of hair was ripped out, he would endure it!
"Grrrnh—!!!!"
Just like her husband, Miyako gritted her teeth against the pain and squeezed every last bit of strength from her body as she clutched her husband’s head tightly.
Her mind was in chaos, but only one thought ruled her consciousness: she had to somehow give birth to Ryu-chan safely and healthily.
And at last—
"Waaah! Waaahhh!"
The very feeling Ai had described to her.
With the sensation of a huge egg slipping out from inside her belly, the long-awaited cry finally rang out—
"Haa— sniff— hhhk! Sniff—"
Soaked with tears and sweat, Miyako, utterly exhausted, could not hold back her own tears as they spilled out.
After the terrible pain that had seemed endless, now that she had given birth, all she wanted was to hold the baby in her arms as soon as possible.
"Miyako. You did great!! You really did great! Thank you for getting through it!"
Once his wife had finally given birth safely, Ichigo poured out praise he would never normally have imagined himself saying and teared up.
"Hhhk— sniff! Hhhk! I want to h-hold the baby— where’s the baby?"
"R-right. Ah! P-please bring the baby over quickly! She says she wants to hold the baby!"
The umbilical cord was cut, and the baby wrapped in green medical cloth burst into cries of "Waaah, waaah."
"Congratulations! It’s a beautiful baby girl!"
As the nurse placed the baby in Miyako’s arms, Miyako burst into tears at the fiercely hot maternal love that engraved itself not just in her heart but deep in her mind.
What a beautiful, precious daughter. Her light reddish-brown hair, so much like Miyako’s, and that straight nose. People say the first daughter takes after her father, but to think she looked so much like her mother... how...
"I’m so glad... she’s a girl, and she looks like me— sniff— I’m really so glad..."
"……."
With his hair a mess and looking as if a rat had chewed through it, Ichigo seriously debated whether he should laugh or not at that remark.
Still, it was enough that his daughter took after the beautiful Miyako rather than him.
Letting out a dry laugh, Ichigo gently wiped the corners of his wet eyes and said in a low voice to the daughter crying loudly in the medical cloth:
"Your name is..."
"Sniff— I-I’ve already decided it!"
"Right. 『Hina』... 『Saito Hina』."
"Waaah... waaah...!"
July 14. A summer morning as dawn broke.
The day exactly one month after the Hoshino family’s youngest child, 『Hoshino Amber』, was born.
『Saito Hina』 was finally born into the world.
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