"Waaahhhhh-!!!!!"
Goro... Aquamarine rubbed his face with his tiny hand as he listened to his little sister crying that she was hungry again and looking for Ai’s breast milk.
"Too loud..."
"Waaaaaah-!!"
Ai came running out of the room at Ruby’s thunderous cry and carefully lifted her into her arms. With a happy smile, she said, "As expected, she’s my daughter! What a powerful cry-! She’ll grow up to be a great singer someday-★"
"Waaah~"
"Eeeh-! You got happy because I praised you!?"
Ai had never once said anything harsh to the twins, and she curved her sparkling starry eyes into a crescent as she smiled softly.
Ruby, who had been bawling her eyes out, quickly broke into a beaming smile and tapped Ai’s chest.
'Oh! Oh!!!! O! To see Ai’s smile right in front of me like this!'
Overjoyed by the unexpected bonus, Aqua snorted and stared wide-eyed at Ai’s smile.
As a fan, seeing the loving smile of a mother Ai was absolutely! Absolutely! Absolutely! an ultra-unique, legendary achievement that could never be seen otherwise!
Trying to look at that expression through the eyes of a baby who had only just turned four months old made his eyes sting, and tears almost spilled out, but Aqua refused to give in and kept staring at Ai.
"Come on, let’s eat~ Okay? Is Aqua hungry too?"
"...Ta, taa~"
"Not hungry? Come to think of it, Aqua hasn’t cried at all, has he? Maybe he isn’t hungry?"
"Ta!"
Compared to Ruby, Aqua’s emotional expressions were mild and quiet, so Ai stared at her son for a moment, meeting his eyes, before sitting on the sofa and rolling up her short sleeves to feed Ruby.
"Taa, taaah-♥"
"......"
That... is really a newborn? As a fellow baby, that bizarre, somehow even sinister-sounding cooing made Aqua feel a deep and intense suspicion.
If only he could sit up and see his twin sister’s expression! What if, like him, she had been reincarnated as some thirty-something single guy in a baby girl’s body?
Aqua, who still hadn’t given up on his devotion to his favorite, pouted and clenched both fists, trembling.
"Wow- you’re eating well, Ruby? You must have been really hungry?"
"Om- omom- om-"
"So pretty! Aren’t you just too cute? I gave birth to you, but you’re really adorable-♥"
Aqua trembled again and swallowed down his boiling anger. Protect your favorite, damn it, protect your favorite!!! Since realizing he had been reincarnated, Aqua had never once received Ai’s breast milk.
In other words, until now, he had never once seen Ai’s... h-her chest!
Even in his previous life, he had failed to keep the promise to protect her, and so his protective instinct and affection for his favorite had been forged hot once more through the long years of endurance and the cycle of reincarnation!
Even if— even if— that chest had been taken by his "father" and his twin "little sister," it didn’t matter!
Because he was Ai’s son!
As her fan, as an adult who remembered his past life, and as her son!
For the sake of protecting Ai, this body of mine...
"Burp..."
"Ruby-chan ate well. How cute, that burp~♥"
Ai smiled as she kissed Ruby again in her arms, then glanced over her shoulder at her son lying on the bed... and gave him a rotten smile?
"Heh."
"Taak!?"
That was definitely a provocation just now, wasn’t it?!
Was that smile really a newborn-only category smile!? That was way too precocious!!!
Hey! Damn it! Just how far does that "genius" go? You’re a reincarnator too, aren’t you?! Right?!
Fuming, Aqua flailed his arms and legs—
Gurgle
"Heeeng- Hwaaaaaaah!!!"
Trying to get angry in such a tiny baby body only made him hungry. His mind might have been that of a thirty-something bachelor, but his body was an honest four-month-old newborn.
No matter how much of a reincarnator he was, he got hungry easily. When Ai heard Aqua’s cry, she was startled and quickly laid Ruby on the bed before slowly lifting Aqua into her arms.
"There, there, don’t cry~ don’t cry~ Aqua~ Mommy will give you milk?"
"Taaahhh-!!!"
At the word milk, Aqua reflexively stopped crying and squirmed.
'No! Ai! No! I’ll protect Ai! I’ll protect her! No! Don’t lift your top-!'
"Come on, let’s eat! I’m sorry I don’t have a breast milk pack for you, Aqua~"
Unlike Aqua’s desperate inner screams, Ai, still a clumsy new mother with a forgetful personality, had forgotten to prepare a breast milk pack even after hearing Kaoru’s words.
What else could she do?
For a hungry baby, of course a mother had to breastfeed as soon as possible!
That was motherhood! That was maternal love!
'Ugh...!'
Aqua tried to resist to the very end, but his tiny body was too honest about hunger.
In the end, for the first time in four months, Aqua was buried in the purest, most unconditional maternal love in the world...
'...This tastes even better than a breast milk pack!?'
He opened his eyes wide at the incomparable freshness and focused intently.
He knew that Ai had been continuing to make breast milk packs with the pump because of him, since he kept refusing to breastfeed, and all he felt was guilt.
Yes. If it’s good, it’s good.
To keep Ai from being inconvenienced! As a fan! To receive it directly from his favorite’s arms...!
"...You’re eating so well! Aqua! You wanted this so badly, how did you hold out until now~?"
"Taa-"
"Yes, yes! Let’s keep eating like this from now on~"
"...Ta."
Aqua quietly closed his eyes and felt the warm maternal love filling his stomach. So this was how his little sister, Ruby, had also... been showered with sincere love in such a calm, peaceful state.
Having finally given in, Aqua ate his fill, burped after Ai’s affectionate pats, and lay down on the bed.
"Taa..."
He felt languid. Now that his stomach was full, this tiny body was being honest again.
As he felt sleepiness creeping in, he patted his full belly for a moment—
"Heh."
"......"
That rotten smile from beside him. Aqua turned his head and looked at his twin sister in the next bed.
"......"
"......"
"......Heh."
Ignoring that gaze as hard as he could, Aqua closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.
With the grown-up thought that someday, when she was bigger, he would definitely flick her on the forehead.
-
"Peekaboo!"
Ruby, Tendouji Sarina, looked at the man who was peeking at her with a cold, dead-eyed stare... 【Ai’s husband】.
Just one look told her he had the kind of face that would make a bunch of women cry. Even though he was still a student, he had gone and pounced on Ai, making her give birth to her and that idiot twin brother of hers—his mortal enemy!!!!
"Taaahhh!"
"?"
Kaoru blinked in surprise at the shriek of hatred that no one would believe came from a four-month-old baby, then smiled and said, "Cute."
"......?!"
What a formidable opponent!!! Even after hearing such a cry overflowing with pure hatred, he was still blinded by affection and couldn’t read the situation!!!!
The twelve-year-old girl, who had already lived long enough in her previous life, stared at the loving smile of her annoyingly handsome father and tried to calm her pounding heart.
Don’t use that handsome face to win a girl over like that!
Ruby glared at her father with puffed-up cheeks.
Kaoru was startled by that terrifying look and trembled all over.
Ruby, thinking her attack had worked, cheered triumphantly inside.
'See? This is what you call a "frosty glare"!'
Kaoru clutched his chest and said in a low voice, "Cute."
".........?!?!!?"
"Ah, you really look just like Ai. You’re her spitting image. As expected... our daughter...!"
Kaoru, his face flushed red, slowly and carefully lifted Ruby into his arms with an emotional expression.
Get away! Don’t hold me! Don’t touch me!
No matter how much she struggled with her tiny body, it wasn’t enough to handle the hands of a father in the middle of his growth spurt, already over 174 cm and heading toward 176.
Held in Kaoru’s arms, Ruby glared at him with one sparkling starry eye full of unwavering resolve and vigilance.
"...Your eyes are really gentle and obedient, just like Ai’s. So pretty."
".........?!?!!?"
Ruby was momentarily flustered.
Just how thick was this man’s affection filter?
She had glared at him like that, and yet he was grinning like an idiot and acting pleased. What was wrong with his eyes!
Since her attack had no effect, Ruby, now thoroughly sulking, wriggled in Kaoru’s arms and poked his chest with her tiny, adorable hands.
"Hm? Hungry?"
"Taaah!!!"
"...Or not?"
He really had no sense at all! Ruby openly vented her dissatisfaction by pounding his chest with both hands, full of hostility and murderous intent.
But—
A four-month-old baby’s angry little fists could hardly hurt.
Rather, with his daughter’s squirming that felt more like she was tapping him affectionately with a sponge, Kaoru could only feel his heart seize up again with love and paternal affection for his daughter.
"Ruby. Still... you must really like your dad, huh?"
"......"
Ruby just gave up.
It was exhausting.
His chest was as hard as a rock and his muscles were so solid that her own hands hurt from hitting him.
"......"
Still, this was the first time she’d ever been held in the arms of an unrelated man.
Ruby quietly searched through her memories, thinking back on her previous life.
When was the last time she’d been held in her "father’s" arms like this?
She couldn’t remember right away.
No, to be exact, she had no such memory.
When she was little, after being hospitalized for a long time with an illness, she had barely even seen her mother’s face.
Her mother, who never even held her hand, would say she was busy and leave the hospital room, promising to come back later.
She was always alone— or else chatting quietly with the "doctor" before falling asleep all by herself.
She couldn’t even remember when she had last received the loving warmth of her "parents."
"Taa."
Ruby, feeling a strange tickle in her heart, tapped her "father’s" chest with a hand that had become curious rather than resentful.
It was warm. And fragrant, and sturdy.
"Ruby."
"......"
"Ruby."
"Uwaangng"
"...Oh, is that babbling? No, that can’t be. There’s no way you’d already be doing that. You’re only four months old. Hahaha. Ruby. Ruby. That’s your name. Ruby. Ruby. Our Ruby. Daddy’s name is Kaoru. Kaoru Kamiki. I want our precious daughter to... mm, learn to talk soon and call me "Dad." There’s still a long way to go, though..."
Kaoru gently kissed Ruby’s soft, plump cheek and whispered in a kind voice.
"Until you grow up, Daddy will stay right by Ruby’s side. Mommy, your big brother, and our daughter. Daddy will make sure you’re happy and safe. Okay? Hmm?"
"......"
The warm blue eyes filled with love and affection shone steadily, never once wavering as they held Ruby in place.
Ruby quietly looked at Kaoru’s face, then, without realizing it, instinctively flailed both hands and tried to touch her father’s face.
She still couldn’t properly control her body, but for some reason she wanted to do that.
He was usually nothing but an annoying thief who had stolen Ai from her, but Ruby reached out desperately toward Kaoru as if she had finally found something she had lost.
"Hm? You want to touch Daddy’s face?"
"Taa! Taa~"
Just as Ruby’s tiny hand finally touched Kaoru’s face—
"Kaoru! Where did you put the diapers we bought~♥"
Ai, who had come out of the bathroom after washing Aqua, called out to her husband in a voice dripping with honey.
Even at that historic moment when his daughter was touching his face, Kaoru immediately turned his head toward Ai and said, "Yeah, next to the closet in the master bedroom. They’re still unopened, so you’ll need scissors!"
"Mmm~ thanks, honey~♥"
MwahMwah
Ai stood on tiptoe and kissed Kaoru’s lips. Not once, but twice.
Kaoru, too, smiled broadly and, satisfied by Ai’s affectionate kisses, gave her cheek another kiss and said, "You worked hard."
"Mhm~ No, not at all! I’m all recovered from Kaoru’s kiss! Eee~ our Ruby~ were you snuggled up in Daddy’s arms~? So cute~! Mommy will give you milk! Wait for me, okay~?"
After Ai tapped Ruby’s cheek with her index finger and went back into the bathroom, Kaoru turned his head again and looked at his daughter.
"You want to touch Daddy’s face again? Hmm?"
"......"
Ruby glared at her father... no, at the "thief who stole Ai," with icy eyes, trembling all over.
This... this... this... thief...!! A thief who deserved divine punishment!!!
The one who snatched Ai away! The one who monopolized Ai’s love!!! The one who gave Ai bad kisses...!!!!!
Ruby, having had her beloved favorite stolen from her, let out a loud cry of rage at Kaoru.
"Waaaaaahhhhh!!!!!"
"Huh! W-what’s wrong! Are you hungry? Huh? Is your diaper full? W-wait—"
Unlike the calm moment from just before, Kaoru was thrown into a panic by his daughter’s thunderous wail and desperately tried to soothe her.
-
Sniff sniff
In the dark of dawn.
Aqua quietly opened his eyes.
His twin sister beside him was asleep.
A quiet night. The living room was dark, with nothing visible except the ticking of the clock.
And yet Aqua tilted his head and touched his face with his tiny hand.
'I’m sure I heard something.'
He was still just a very young baby, so his hearing hadn’t fully developed yet.
But because the familiar sound had been something he’d heard at least once in the vast memories of his previous life, it had woken him from sleep.
Aqua grew irritated and wriggled around, feeling the softness of the diaper he’d been changed into before bed, and was about to drift off again...
-
Hngh.
"!?!!?!?!?!"
At the unidentified sound coming from the master bedroom, Aqua’s hair stood on end.
He swallowed dryly on his own.
This sound.
This... sound.
An unfamiliar groan, as if someone were enduring pain.
A sound very familiar to him from when he had been a doctor.
But there was no way a patient could suddenly be in pain, so... that made the sound even more suffocating.
Veins stood out in Aqua’s blue eyes.
-
Hngh
"........................"
Aqua’s tiny hands began to tremble.
This was loss, the fall of a phoenix that had once flown through the sky, the waterfall of tears pouring from a heart hollowed out by emptiness, the sound of a heartbeat stopping after learning another side of the one he loved.
He had already learned everything there was to know in his previous life, after all. Aqua, who had seen Ai with her belly swollen and Kaoru staying glued to her side, worrying constantly that something might happen to her, had tasted a faint bitterness.
If twins were carried in the womb, then the bond between the two of them was a relationship completed through... well, calling it an agreement would be too stiff, so through "love."
That was why he had made a firm promise to Kaoru, after Kaoru asked him to protect Ai.
He had promised to protect the person he loved in his place!
And yet?!
To be stabbed in the back like this—
-
─!
A raw voice. So much so that Aqua could feel with his own body that it had been desperately muffled until now, the split-second cry that had just leaked out held no trace of "patience" at all.
-
─ ─ ─!
In the silent, dark night, where even the ticking of the second hand felt like thunder, Aqua was seized by rising fury and the despair of having failed to protect his beloved favorite.
Yes!!! Kaoru and Ai were, without a doubt, his "parents"!
The bond of heaven and fate, joined by the heavens themselves!!!!!
Of course spouses could share love! That was only natural! They were married! They were lovers! They loved each other!
But. But! But!!!!!
"Uuuh... uuuuhhh..."
No child, no fan...!
Would want to learn a secret like this... like this...!!!
"Uuuhhh..."
I don’t want to know a secret I was never meant to know!!!!!
"Waaaaaaahhhhhhhhh-!!!!!!!"
Was it because he had become a baby?
Aqua couldn’t control his emotions and ended up bursting into tears.
He cried at the top of his lungs, pouring out all the pain, anguish, despair, sorrow, and rage he had been holding in until now.
At Aqua’s heartbreaking, almost tearing cry—
Thudthud!
From far away in the master bedroom came the sound of feet stomping, then the door was flung open and Kaoru and Ai rushed out in a panic.
"A-Aqua! Mmm~ Mommy’s here! Are you hungry? Don’t cry~ It’s okay~"
"Waaaaaahhhhh-!!"
"R-Ruby is fine. Ai. She’s sleeping... well? Wow..."
"Waaaaaahhhhh!"
Ai, who had apparently rushed out in a hurry and hadn’t even noticed that the shoulder strap of the dress she wore as sleepwear was twisted, sat down on the sofa to comfort Aqua.
"I fed him a breast milk pack earlier, so he shouldn’t be waking up hungry."
At Kaoru’s calm words, Ai touched Aqua’s diaper and tilted her head.
"His diaper is fine too—haah—nothing wrong. Aqua, were you scared because it was nighttime? Hmm? Does something hurt?"
"Hngh... heeeng... hngh..."
Ai’s starry eyes trembled with worry for her lovable son, who was so precious it hurt to even think about him being in pain.
Seeing that, Aqua quickly came back to his senses and gradually stopped crying.
Nothing hurt... no, that wasn’t true. My heart hurts. My heart...
But even as he sniffled—
"Oh? Aqua! You’re done crying already? You stopped just like that~? Hmm?"
"...Taah."
"Now that you’re with Mommy, you feel better, right? Eeeh~ Aqua... don’t cry. Mommy got worried. I thought you were hurt."
As Ai held him tightly and rubbed her face against his, Aqua felt his mind and body gradually calm under the warmth and scent of her love, and he sniffled out the rest of his tears.
Kaoru, who had rushed out wearing only a pair of shorts and no top, revealing his solid, muscular bare torso, awkwardly watched the touching sight of mother and son.
"......"
It really was. Really, after such a long time... after finally getting a chance like this.
Kaoru felt relieved that his beloved son had quickly calmed down and was fine again, but...
"...I’ll go back in first. Come in later."
"Okay. Sorry, Kaoru. I, um, I could keep going a little later too."
"No. It’s fine, Ai. Stay with Aqua until he falls asleep again. I’m okay."
Kaoru stroked Ai’s hair and kissed her lips, meaning for her not to worry, then forced a smile and went back into the room as if nothing had happened.
Ai watched him go, let out a quiet breath, then looked at Aqua and smiled.
"Still, I’m relieved it was nothing serious. Aqua."
"......Taah."
In his mother’s warm embrace.
Aqua soon felt sleepiness wash over him, and as Ai stroked his cheek and kissed him, he gathered his thoughts and told himself inwardly:
Let’s just think of it as a bad nightmare...
And so... with one tear rolling down, Aqua fell asleep in his beloved mother’s warm arms.
As a famous douchebag once said: "And what you saw when you opened that door changed your life forever... You saw your dad f*** your mom."