September, when the drama was airing.
The twins had been born, and a lot had happened, but time had passed in the blink of an eye.
September 12.
The blessed day the twins were born.
Even though there had been many obstacles, it was also the day that had given Kaoru and Ai a happiness they would never forget.
Kaoru smiled as he looked at the circled September 12 on the calendar with blue eyes full of joy and anticipation.
Why was he the one more nervous?
The reason was obvious.
As their father, he had to hold his children’s first birthday celebration. Of course he was thumping with excitement, nervous, and thrilled! As the children grew cuter day by day, getting plumper and smiling happily at their mom and dad, what father wouldn’t be overjoyed?
First, Kaoru decided to prepare gifts for the celebration, and asked Ai if she could make one more knitted rabbit doll like the one she had made for him in Miyazaki Prefecture.
Ai burned with enthusiasm, saying she could make anything as a gift for the twins, and in no time at all the ultimate rabbit doll was finished.
Kaoru then got to work so he could place the small recording chip he had ordered inside the doll.
"Ai. Want to record a message for the twins?"
"Huh? Uh—yeah... Do I just press this and talk?"
"Yeah. Just something short, two or three seconds."
Ai, a little tense after being asked so suddenly, held the button on the recording chip and thought for a moment... then, as if she had decided on her line, gave a firm nod and pressed it.
"Aqua, Ruby! I love you, mon!"
"?"
Kaoru was momentarily stunned by Ai’s unexpectedly cute voice and line, then burst out laughing.
Still, this was a message she had seriously 고민ed over for the twins, so Kaoru soothed the slightly sulky Ai, who told him not to laugh at her.
Kaoru wasn’t about to lose either.
"Ahem... Ah, I need to think of a line anyway since I have to record one for the other doll too?"
"Got it. Hurry up! I’ll see how much better you are than me!"
"Ahem... A-Aqua! Ruby! Love-love, mon!"
"Pffft?!"
At his wife’s reaction, as she failed to hold back her laughter and practically collapsed in tears, Kaoru’s face turned bright red and he seriously considered scrapping the recording chip and ordering a new one.
After that noisy recording session ended, Kaoru secretly brought out one more doll and finished the work on both dolls. Then he measured the circumference of the twins’ tiny ring fingers and, together with Miyako, secretly ordered Aqua and Ruby’s first-birthday rings made to order.
Of course, they were made from pure 24K gold, and the gemstones derived from Aqua and Ruby’s names—[Aquamarine] and [Ruby]—were delicately set into the rings as well.
When he received the finished rings, the joy he felt was... impossible to put into words. So many overwhelming emotions surged up that Kaoru had to struggle to hold back his tears.
"Waaah... They’re beautiful♥ You prepared all of this, Kaoru?"
"Not all of it. Miyako helped too. So? Do you like them?"
Ai, looking at Aqua and Ruby’s birthday rings after taking them out of the case, let her starlit eyes sparkle. Overcome with emotion and on the verge of tears, Ai bit her lip lightly and hugged her husband tightly, just barely holding back her own tears as well.
"Aaah, they’re so pretty...♥ So pretty. Can such tiny rings really fit on their fingers? Eeeek—! Thank you, Kaoru. I want to see Aqua and Ruby showing off that they got the most amazing first-birthday rings in the world. Eeeeh—! I can’t wait to put them on them~☆"
"Let’s wait a little longer. Just a few more days, Ai."
As Kaoru had said, a few days later, September 12 finally arrived after the long wait.
The weather was bright, and even by evening the sky was still perfectly clear.
On the evening when the sunset had begun to sink and darkness was starting to gather, Kaoru had cooked the dishes they would eat for the happy celebration himself, and had also ordered the more labor-intensive foods from a specialty restaurant to bring home. When he saw Ai, who had arrived early and was getting everything ready, come out to greet him, he smiled.
"Kaoru~! Give it here! I’ll carry it!"
"Ah, thanks. Is the president here too?"
"Yep! He came early and was helping me get ready!"
After handing over the bags and entering the living room with Ai, the twins, sitting on the sofa, greeted their father when they saw him. Ichigo, who had been sitting below the sofa, and Miyako, who had been doing some simple cooking in the kitchen, also greeted Kaoru.
After saying hello to Ichigo and Miyako, Kaoru... stared wide-eyed at the day’s main characters and little angels sitting on the sofa.
"Daa! Da!"
"Daaah..."
"Wow! Who are these two! Aqua, Ruby! Did you wear pretty clothes and wait for Daddy?"
Aqua and Ruby had been dressed up beautifully for the first-birthday celebration. Aqua wore a lovely dark navy baby outfit, while Ruby wore a baby dress with a striking ruby-colored skirt, giving them an aura like models for a famous company.
Ai burst out laughing at her husband’s stunned expression and leaned her head against his arm.
"I specially ordered them!"
"So that’s why you said I’d be surprised when I got home?"
"Yep! Ai’s little surprise, I guess—☆"
Ai flashed a cute smile and a V sign. Kaoru kissed her cheek, then rushed to the sofa, scooped up the twins, and pressed his lips to their chubby little cheeks.
At the sight of their adorable, angelic son and daughter—
"Please, President."
"Right... Since it’s a happy occasion, I’ll be the photographer today."
Ichigo ambled over with a digital camera and cheerfully captured the happy scene of the family and the twins without holding back.
Ai, a little suspicious, said quietly, "Don’t take any with our eyes closed!"
"Ai."
"Yo!"
"Haaah, honestly. Do you think I’m a beginner? I’m the president of an idol agency, you know."
The story of how, among the photos taken that day, three of Kaoru’s eyes-closed shots and even one of Ai’s eyes-closed shots were later discovered was a rather absurd revelation that came much later.
But for now, Ichigo diligently fulfilled his role and kept taking pictures.
Kaoru and Ai set out all the dishes Kaoru had cooked and the food he had brought home, then placed Aqua and Ruby in the baby chairs they had prepared in advance.
"Daaah!"
"Daa—"
Ruby seemed to know it was her birthday today, and her starry eyes, so much like her mother’s, sparkled as she waved both arms excitedly.
Aqua seemed to be in a good mood too, leaning into Ai’s touch and smiling.
Once everything was ready and the Saito couple and the Kaoru-Ai couple were seated, they each lifted the cups filled with beer and soft drinks.
As the eldest there, Ichigo cleared his throat with a humph! and spoke with a serious air in his eyes behind his sunglasses.
"Today is a very auspicious day. Kaoru’s drama is doing well, and Ai is also performing wonderfully as the ace of our agency. I’m very happy that Aqua and Ruby, both twins, have grown up healthy for a whole year. Living healthily and happily without trouble like this is the best thing of all."
"The best! The best!"
At Ai’s agreement, Ichigo nodded and shouted, "To celebrate the twins’ first birthday! Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
The four of them set down their emptied glasses and began eating.
They ate harmoniously, sharing unfinished stories and funny stories they had exchanged before.
"Is it good, Ruby?"
"Daaah!"
"How about Aqua? Want more baby food?"
"Daa—"
"Haha! You know today’s your birthday, don’t you?"
Kaoru fed baby food to Aqua and Ruby, while—
"If it hadn’t been for Kaoru back then, I might have dived straight into the bathtub! Eheheh—☆"
without realizing it, Ai talked and laughed about when she had been pregnant, casually stroking her husband’s thigh as she did so.
"Still, I get through it because I enjoy watching the twins. When they smile at me, all my fatigue just melts away, you know?"
While drinking beer, Miyako—who had long since gone from calling them a messenger of God or whatever to being completely devoted to the twins—looked at them with warm, affectionate eyes, and Ichigo laughed quietly as he listened.
As the happy dinner was drawing to a close, a slightly tipsy Ichigo brought a wooden box he had prepared in advance from one corner of the living room and set it on the table.
"This is [one-stone rice cake]!"
"Ah, [one-stone rice cake]!"
Ai remembered seeing it online while preparing for the first-birthday celebration and opened the wooden box, revealing a large rice cake about the size of an adult palm sitting inside.
Miyako glanced at it and tilted her head. "That looks a little heavy for the twins to carry."
"It’s fine! If they can’t even carry this, how are they supposed to get through the rest of life? And anyway—since Mom and Dad will be holding them the whole time as they walk, it’s all good!"
"......"
Kaoru had been against the [one-stone rice cake] from the start, so he looked at the wooden box with a slightly skeptical expression.
He understood that in the past, infant survival rates were low, so the custom of praying for a baby’s long life after they grew safely had continued for a long time.
But making them carry and walk with such a heavy rice cake now seemed a little dangerous.
Of course—
"Let’s do it! If it’s Aqua and Ruby, they’ll definitely finish it! They’re super strong because they take after me!"
"A, Ai."
Since Ai’s eyes were sparkling and she was so eager to try it, he had no choice but to ask Ichigo to make it a little smaller.
Kaoru soothed his wife, who was even more excited than the babies, and prepared the [one-stone rice cake].
He laid out a small red carpet, and Ai stood at the end of it, looking down at the twins seated on the floor with her starlit eyes.
Aqua and Ruby were suddenly put in the situation of having to walk while carrying rice cakes on their backs as part of a first-birthday event.
"Daa."
"......"
Why did they have to do this while carrying something so heavy? They sat there with bored, utterly annoyed expressions—
"Ruby! Come to Mama!"
At the end of the red carpet, their beloved mama was smiling brightly, clapping, and holding out both arms toward them.
For a split second, sparks flew in Ruby’s starlit eyes.
"Daaaahhhhh!?!!!!!!"
"Ooooooh! What was that?!"
"Wow! A track athlete?!"
Even though the weight had been reduced, it was still a little heavy for a baby who had just turned one!
Ruby forcefully pushed up her short, plump little legs and stood, then walked toward Ai at incredible speed.
It was like the movement of a track athlete, with blazing eyes full of fierce determination to win her mother’s love no matter what!
Kaoru, watching that scene—
"......"
was so stunned he could not even close his mouth, and as he looked at Ruby in Ai’s arms, he thought,
Our daughter should become a runner?!
Whether Kaoru dreamed such grand dreams or not, Ruby successfully completed the [one-stone rice cake] in style and threw herself into Ai’s arms with a triumphant roar.
"Daaah! Mama! Mama!"
"Eeeeeeeek—♥ Mama’s girl! Ruby, you’re amazing! I knew you’d do it beautifully! From now on you’ll grow up healthy and strong without getting sick at all! As expected of my daughter!"
"......"
After handing off to Ai, Kaoru sat at the end of the red carpet and clapped as he watched the next child, Aqua.
"Come on! Aqua! Come to Daddy!"
"......"
Still sitting on the floor, Aqua lifted his dull blue eyes with the expression of an employee from a black company who had been forced to work through Sunday and looked at his father.
"Daa..."
"Ooh! He’s looking away?!"
"For a baby who just turned one, he’s making his intentions awfully clear!"
Ichigo and Miyako, watching with great interest as Aqua flat-out refused by looking away, shouted over each other.
"...A-Aqua?!"
Kaoru, for his part, was completely flustered by Aqua’s unmotivated expression.
My son. My son! He’s giving up without even trying.
As a father, what was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to approach a son who feared challenges and give him courage?
Though he was clumsy because this was his first time being a father, Kaoru wanted to do anything for the child he loved. Red starlight flickered faintly in his blue eyes as he shouted,
"Aqua! You can do it! Don’t give up! You can do it!"
"...Daa?"
"As you go through life, there will be all kinds of trials even harder than this. There will be times when you fall down. But your dad will always be right in front of you! Aqua! You can do it!"
"Daaah!"
Had Kaoru’s sincere feelings gotten through? Aqua, who had been listless, suddenly burned with fire in his blue eyes and stood up with all his strength.
"Daaahhhhh-!"
Just like Ruby. No, maybe even more than Ruby!
He moved his short, chubby legs busily, carrying the heavy rice cake and toddling forward with a speed that was almost sacred, like the return of a baby angel.
Miyako, filming the whole thing without missing a moment, even began to tear up.
The first challenge of his life! Heading toward the end of that challenge. Aqua, with his first [one-stone rice cake] success just ahead of him!
Kaoru, eyes brimming with emotion and joy, spread his arms wide and shouted toward his son as he came toddling over with all his might.
"Daaah!"
"That’s right! My boy! Good job!"
But Aqua did not come into Kaoru’s arms.
He walked a few more steps—
"Eeeeeek—♥ Aqua~! You did it! You did it! I knew Mama’s Aqua would pull it off! Good boy, good boy♥"
"Daaahhhhh! Cough! Daaahhhh!"
"......"
Kaoru froze like a stone with his arms still spread, staring blankly at the scene.
His face had gone completely white. At that devastated, heartbreaking look in his eyes—
Miyako, who had captured the scene in close-up, lowered her camera and patted his shoulder.
"Kids usually like their mom more than their dad."
Surprisingly, it was not at all comforting.
After the commotion, the true highlight of the first-birthday celebration, the [erabi tori], or [first-birthday selection], began.
A ritual in which a baby picks from cards with pictures of things like an abacus, a brush, or a dictionary to predict what they will become in the future.
But Kaoru and Ai were simply parents who would be thrilled as long as the twins grew up healthy, and who were doing their best to support whatever the twins wanted to do.
Honestly, they were prepared to be happy no matter what the babies picked.
"Ruby’s lively, so I think she’ll grab the ball. Aqua will probably grab the money."
"Hmm... I think Ruby will grab the scissors somehow, and Aqua... the abacus, maybe?"
"Tsk... It’d be nice if one of Aqua or Ruby ended up in a profession with a ‘sa’ in it."
However, Ichigo and Miyako each offered their own predictions and maintained a cautious stance.
In particular, Ichigo wanted at least one of the twins to go into a professional field.
When Ai heard that, she slightly wrinkled her expression and cut him off.
"Don’t put pressure on the babies!"
"Ai."
"Yo!!!"
"...A-Alright. Fine. What the babies want comes first."
Ichigo, cowed by the twins’ mother, adjusted his sunglasses and held his tongue.
There were cards with pictures of an abacus, a ball, scissors, a dictionary, and a microphone, plus a 10,000-yen bill Ichigo had taken out. And, just in case, a theater pamphlet Kaoru had brought out.
Looking at the five cards, the bill, and the pamphlet laid out in front of the twins, Kaoru sat behind the cards so the babies would not lose interest in the [first-birthday selection].
"Daa."
"Daaah..."
Ruby seemed sleepy now and let out a huge yawn. As if she wanted to finish this quickly and go take a bath with her beloved mama, she immediately sprang into action.
"Dadadada!"
"Ooh! She’s going!"
"Ah! What will she grab!"
Even with Ichigo and Miyako providing commentary, Ai watched quietly with a gentle smile, her eyes bright with interest as she waited to see what her beloved daughter would pick.
Ruby toddled over quickly and—
"Ah!"
Kaoru gasped in surprise at Ruby’s unexpected choice.
Ichigo was the same, his mouth hanging open as he stared at Ruby.
"S-She picked the microphone?!"
"Eeeeeek—♥ Ruby! Do you want to become an idol like Mama?! Hm~?!"
"Daaah! Da! Da!"
As soon as she grabbed the microphone, Ai shouted in delight and hugged her daughter tightly, kissing her cheeks over and over because Ruby’s unexpected choice was so adorable and precious.
She really was the daughter born from her own belly.
Ai, who knew from Miyako and Kaoru that Ruby watched her stage performances on TV every day as part of her cute daily routine—
"Mama will work even harder for Ruby too! I’ll become the best idol so Ruby can proudly say I’m her favorite in the whole world without feeling embarrassed! Okay★"
"Da! Da! Da!"
Kaoru looked nervously at the two of them, who were having far too much fun. That left Aqua.
"Daaah..."
Aqua thought for a moment, then began toddling over. What would he choose...?!
"Oh! He’s thinking about it?!"
Even at Ichigo’s words, Kaoru never took his eyes off Aqua’s tiny hand.
Aqua looked very serious as he alternated between the card with the dictionary and the theater pamphlet Kaoru had taken out.
It was as if he was considering both of them!
Kaoru’s heart began to pound.
He was a support-type parent who would push hard behind whatever job his child wanted to pursue, but it would be a lie to say he had no dream of his child following in his footsteps and walking the same path!
If Aqua were to become an actor...?!
Sensing the expectation in Kaoru’s eyes, Aqua pretended not to notice and coolly walked into Kaoru’s arms after choosing the dictionary and the theater pamphlet together.
"Daa."
"A-Aqua! My son!"
Kaoru hugged his adorable son tightly and, overwhelmed with emotion, flopped backward onto the floor.
Though it was only a superstition, it was more than worth it just to feel this pride and happiness.
Watching Kaoru and Ai spending happy moments with their children, the Saito couple—
"...Should we wrap it up soon?"
"Maybe?"
—pat each other’s shoulders sadly, feeling some vague sense of defeat.
-
Deep in the night after the first-birthday celebration had ended and Kaoru and Ai had gone home.
- Aqua, Ruby. I love you, mon!
"Eeeek! Isn’t this too cute?"
"I-I think so too."
- Aqua, Ruby. I love you, mon!
"Hehehe."
The two twins, having held a secret meeting in the dark, wore sinister smiles as they exposed their black greed toward the dolls.
The knitted rabbit dolls, handmade and carrying Ai’s recorded voice.
These would become the greatest goods in the world, with a value that could not even be measured in money.
And as the twins who had been born with the natural right to enjoy this as the children of their beloved idol, the lucky brother and sister—
"...Should we listen to Dad’s too?"
"......"
It felt wrong not to listen, but it was also a little embarrassing, and somehow a little cringey, their father’s excessive affection.
Just what kind of voice had been recorded...?
- A, Aqua, Ruby. Love-love, mon!
"Pffft!?"
"Kkhh?!"
When the embarrassment he could not hide played back through the speaker without any filter, the twins could not hold back their laughter at the same time and spat out their drinks.
- A, Aqua, Ruby. Love-love, mon!
"Puhuhuhuh!"
"Kihk-kihk-!!!"
With a voice that was 180 degrees different from his usual appearance and image, the twins smiled happily. In the end, no matter how you looked at it, Kaoru’s love for the twins was a voice filled with 100 percent sincerity.
"Can’t I have Dad’s too?"
"...No. Then let’s swap."
"I don’t want that."
"Then I won’t give it to you."
"......"
The twins fiercely clashed over ownership of the doll until very late into the night.
Then, recalling the unforgettable and happy memories they had made.
"Hehe. Mama..."
The twin brother and sister fell fast asleep, each hugging one rabbit doll close to their chest.
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