The season had passed spring and was moving into early summer.
Ai’s belly had grown even larger. Of course, it wasn’t as big as when she had been pregnant with the twins, but even with a single baby, her stomach had swelled quite a bit.
Her due date was set for mid-June, so it was almost time.
Still, perhaps because her experience with a natural delivery of the twins hadn’t been wasted, Ai walked around briskly, holding her rounded belly.
Even the stretch marks and swelling that many mothers suffered in the later stages of pregnancy were only mild in her case.
In fact, Aqua could only be astonished by Ai’s natural physical resilience.
When he had heard that she had given birth to Ruby and himself naturally, then returned to [B Komachi] in just one year, he had thought it was impressive. But seeing it with his own eyes made it hard to believe.
"Mother is... strong!"
Aqua’s blue eyes sparkled as he turned to Ai with a smile full of affection.
A few days later, Miyako came to visit with bread she had bought from a famous pastry shop for Ai.
"A maternity photo shoot?"
"Yeah. I saw on social media that pregnant women are doing those these days."
Miyako, who was always quick to catch trends, said while stuffing her face with cream buns.
Kaoru and Ai exchanged a look and thought about a maternity photo shoot. A maternity shoot they had never even considered when she was pregnant with the twins.
Raising the twins had taught them that even a single photograph, even one second of video, could become a precious and irreplaceable memory, and the couple understood each other with just a glance.
"Ruby wants to do it too! Ruby wants to do it too!"
"I really want to do it too!!!"
When they asked the twins for their opinion just in case, the two of them burned with enthusiasm as if they would regret it for the rest of their lives if they weren’t taken along.
When hearts were in sync, it was time to act immediately!
The Kaoru-Ai couple asked Yamamoto, who had previously handled the twins’ kid model shoot, to do the maternity photos.
Yamamoto gladly accepted, no, he practically begged to be entrusted with it, as if he would regret it for the rest of his life if he didn’t get to take the pictures.
He pushed back every other schedule and cleared his entire calendar just for Ai’s maternity shoot.
He had all of his staff on standby, and the moment the Kaoru-Ai couple and the twins arrived, he carefully adjusted everything to Ai’s condition and professionally explained the shoot concept and drafts.
"All right! Great! Yes, haha. You two can get a little closer. Yes! Good! One! Two!"
Click, click!
"Would this be okay?"
"Yes. The sight of mothers gently stroking their full-term bellies is, in essence, the noble maternal love latent in the human subconscious..."
Click! Click!
"Good. Yes, yes. Aqua-kun, Ruby-chan. Would you like to rest your ears lightly against Mom’s belly? Yes, yes. Good! Yes! One! Two!"
Click, click!
Yamamoto, true to form, took precious maternity photos of Ai in a variety of poses.
The image of a harmonious family, the love between husband and wife, the quiet intimacy between mother and twins.
After two hours, the shoot ended, and Kaoru was handed a USB containing the photo files.
Yamamoto promised to make a photobook himself and mail it to their home, then escorted the Hoshino family all the way to the studio’s underground parking lot.
"Hmm-hmm~★"
"This photo turned out really well!"
"Ruby likes this one best!"
Driving, Kaoru looked through the rearview mirror at his wife in the back seat, smiling contentedly as she admired the photos sent to her phone with the twins.
He felt happiness welling deep in his chest, certain that this would become an unforgettable memory.
-
On the afternoon of June 5, as the false labor became more frequent and the due date drew near, Ai was admitted to a famous obstetrics clinic nearby.
It was a hospital with excellent medical staff and 24-hour VIP rooms, a place frequently visited by celebrities, sports stars, and the wives of politicians and business leaders.
Ai had asked why she needed to be admitted to such an expensive hospital when she had already given birth to the twins just fine at a rural general hospital in Miyazaki Prefecture, but—
Kaoru, and even the twins, refused to budge!
"It reminds me of when the twins were born."
"Hehe, yeah. It’s already been over five years. Oh? This air purifier... it’s a super expensive premium model, isn’t it?"
"Compared to that old hospital... this place is a palace. Haha, I can relax this time. There’s no way the doctor will mess up."
President Ichigo and Miyako looked around the comfortable private room and each offered their impressions. Kaoru sat close beside Ai and held his wife’s hand tightly.
"Don’t worry about anything else. Just focus on giving birth safely and healthily to Tama-chan. This time I’ll stay right by your side all day."
"Hehe, if I tell you to go home because you’re being too much, you won’t listen anyway, will you?"
"Of course not."
Kaoru’s blue eyes shone brightly. Miyazaki Prefecture and Tokyo. Even the physical distance between them was over 1,000 kilometers, yet if they wanted to, the gap between them could be less than 0 millimeters.
How much had he fretted while attending high school with his pregnant wife left in Miyazaki Prefecture? He hadn’t even been able to sleep properly. He had kept his phone in his hand all day long.
Kaoru had already sworn that he would never let that happen again. Even if Ai begged him to go home, he was prepared to ignore her completely.
Ai chuckled softly at her impossible husband, but she also felt reassured and supported by his presence, always staying by her side.
With her star-bright eyes sparkling, Ai lifted Kaoru’s large hand, which had been interlaced with hers, kissed the back of it, and rubbed her cheek against it.
"You two are disgustingly sweet. You’ll probably have a fourth one before long."
"...If there is a fourth, the government really ought to give us a commendation."
Ichigo and Miyako, seated on the sofa and watching the couple’s familiar little display of affection, each tossed in a joke.
Soon after, the Saito couple left to take care of the twins’ dinner.
Kaoru ate the hospital dinner with Ai and spent the time happily chatting with her, just the two of them, for the first time in a while.
Then, about two days later, late on the night of June 7—
"Ugh!"
At last, Ai’s labor began, and she broke into a cold sweat, swallowing a pained groan.
Kaoru silently stayed by her side, holding her hand and praying that everything would go safely.
Under the watchful monitoring of the medical staff, including a dedicated doctor and professional midwife who were with her around the clock, Ai’s condition was checked in detail.
At 4:40 a.m., about five hours after labor began, the female doctor checked Ai’s uterus and hurried out of the delivery room to look at Kaoru.
"The mother’s cervix has dilated. You should get ready soon."
"!"
Kaoru immediately sent messages to Ichigo and Miyako.
Then, with a restless, anxious heart full of worry, he paced in front of the delivery room. There were chairs, but he couldn’t bring himself to sit down.
The memory of how much pain Ai had been in when she gave birth to the twins flashed through his mind, and a sigh escaped him on its own. If only he could take the pain for his wife!
About fifteen minutes later, a nurse came out of the delivery room and said to Kaoru,
"It should be time to deliver soon, so if the husband would like to come in directly—"
"I’m going in."
Before the nurse could even finish, Kaoru cut her off and hurried into the delivery room.
He quickly put on the sterilized surgical gown, cap, and mask, then followed her inside.
It wasn’t his first time, but his heart still pounded hard.
"Yes! I can see the head! You’re doing great!"
"Uuuuuugh-!!!!"
"Ai. You’re doing well. Slowly—breathe—hoo! haa! hoo! haa!"
"Hoo! Haa! Hoo! Haa! Uuuuuugh!"
Ai’s face was red as she shed tears and gave it everything she had.
And then, at last—
"Waaahhh—!!! Waaahhh—!!!"
With the sensation of a huge egg slipping out from inside her belly, a baby’s loud cry filled the delivery room.
Exhausted, Ai panted for breath and lifted her faintly starlit eyes to look at Kaoru.
There was also an indescribable, overwhelming joy, emotion, and happiness that came after the pain of childbirth.
"You did well. You did so well, Ai. Really... thank you. For holding on. For giving birth safely."
"Mm... Kaoru...."
After the umbilical cord was cut, the baby, wrapped in medical cloth, was finally placed in Ai’s arms.
"Congratulations! It’s a healthy baby girl!"
"Haah...! Hic—hello? I’m your mom."
"Waaah! Waaah! Waaahhh—"
A beautiful little princess with purple hair just like her mother’s. So the third child was a girl. Her face was wrinkled and so tiny that it was hard to make out her features properly, but the couple knew at once.
Her hair was like her mother’s, and her features were just like her father’s.
Ai looked at the daughter crying loudly in her arms, then smiled and looked at Kaoru.
"Baby... name... Kaoru should name her..."
"Me?"
When Ai nodded, Kaoru blinked rapidly with his blue eyes and scrambled to think.
【 If it’s a boy, "Amber"! If it’s a girl, "Sapphire"! Should we go with that? No! Maybe "Lapis Lazuli"? Should we just make it "Lapis"? For a boy, maybe "Onyx" is better than "Amber"? 】
【 Ah.... 】
Kaoru remembered once again how Ai had lamented her naming sense when she tried to give their third child yet another outrageous gemstone name after Aquamarine and Ruby.
He had wanted to stop her, the words rising all the way to his throat, but when he saw his wife carefully checking the birthstones herself on the internet and in books, choosing the name with love and sincerity, he couldn’t bring himself to object.
But now, his wife had handed him the naming rights.
Kaoru began the most intense brainwork of his past and present lives.
He had only three seconds. Once that time passed, there was a high chance his wife would change her mind again.
Kaoru’s blue eyes fixed on the pretty purple-haired daughter in Ai’s arms.
...Purple.
...Birthstone. Amethyst. Amethyst.
...No! He couldn’t name the baby "Amethyst." Aquamarine and Ruby were already enough.
...But he still had to satisfy Ai’s wishes, so he needed to find a reasonable compromise.
...Think. Think. Think, Kaoru.
"Mm... if you can’t think of a good name, I can—"
"[Ame]."
"Huh?"
Kaoru’s blue eyes, full of certainty, shone brilliantly.
Kaoru lowered his mask and smiled quietly as he spoke.
"Her purple hair is the same color as yours. From the English word for amethyst, ‘amethyst’... [Hoshino Ame]."
"Wow! Hehe—yes! That’s a pretty name. A little disappointing, maybe... but since Kaoru chose it... Ame.... Ame. Nice to meet you?"
"Waaah! Waaahhh! Waaah~"
Ai, her star-bright eyes sparkling, greeted the baby with a happy smile.
On June 8, in the early dawn as daylight began to break, the third miracle to come to Kaoru, Ai, and the twins—the Hoshino family—was born into the world at last.
[Hoshino Ame]
-
"Wow.... She’s so small...."
"...So cute. Wow...."
The twins’ eyes shone brightly, their expressions overflowing with wonder, affection, and love.
The sight of Ame sleeping and wriggling inside her swaddling cloth was an irreplaceable moment for Aqua and Ruby.
Because she had been fed, a faint but pleasant milk scent drifted to the twins’ noses. Their minds might not have been those of children, even including their past lives, but instinctively they could tell it was the scent of a mother’s milk.
Ruby unconsciously lifted a hand and slowly reached out to touch Ame’s tiny cheek. Seeing that, Kaoru smiled and said,
"Be careful when you touch her so she won’t get startled. You two were this small once too. Babies are tiny and fragile, so even the slightest touch can surprise them, which is why Mama and Papa have to be careful."
"Ah. Okay! Ruby will just look."
Startled, Ruby quickly pulled her hand back. She was worried that if she touched Ame’s cheek, the sleeping baby might start crying.
Mom had to rest after giving birth, and Ame had only just been born and needed to sleep. Ruby, as a reincarnator, held herself back with all her might for the sake of her favorite and her little sibling who would soon become her favorite too.
"......"
Aqua was so focused on Ame that he couldn’t hear a single thing anyone around him was saying.
Having always carried guilt and regret in his heart for failing to keep his promise in his past life to stay by her side, Aqua could finally smile at ease when he saw the baby of his favorite person, the little sister who shared his blood.
His little sister, with her purple hair, was so cute, so pale, so much like Ai that he could hardly stand it.
While the twins were too busy staring at Ame, Ai sat up in bed, ate lunch, and let Miyako feed her side dishes like a baby bird.
"Wow, they’re serving Korean-style seaweed soup here? Didn’t the hospital in Miyazaki give you miso soup with seaweed in it?"
President Ichigo took off his sunglasses and tilted his head as he looked at Ai’s lunch tray.
Kaoru, who had been busy watching Ame with the twins, smiled and said,
"I asked about that, and apparently the director’s wife is Korean, so they serve seaweed soup. The menu is carefully calculated with taro simmered in broth, bonito flakes, eggs, and everything else... but seaweed soup is guaranteed to appear at least once."
"Ahh~ So Koreans eat seaweed soup after giving birth? Well, seaweed is good for the body, I guess."
"Seaweed soup... It’s my first time trying it, and it’s so delicious!"
Ai, her star-bright eyes sparkling, held her spoon tightly and chirped like a little rabbit.
Miyako placed side dishes on top of Ai’s multigrain rice with her chopsticks and said,
"Hehe. I’m really glad the birth went smoothly. Since you’re a mother of twins, it was a lot faster than last time."
"Hehe! I felt even stronger because Kaoru was right beside me! Nom-"
At his wife’s words, as she ate with her cheeks puffing like a rabbit’s, Kaoru could only smile warmly.
Was there any happier feeling than hearing that having someone precious beside you gave you strength?
Filled with that happiness, he quietly looked at Ame and whispered,
"Ame. Welcome to our family."
The news of Ai’s delivery was widely reported by the media at 1:00 p.m. that afternoon.
With the announcement that she had given birth to a beautiful daughter, congratulations and support poured in from both fans and the general public.
Kaoru posted a black-and-white photo of Ame sleeping on the official Twitter account and thanked everyone for their support and congratulations.
He also shared that Ai had safely given birth and was recovering.
Interview requests from reporters and broadcasters flooded in, but Rentaro and Ichigo politely yet firmly declined them and helped Ai recover in peace.
Then a week passed, and Ai was discharged from the hospital and finally able to come home, holding Ame tightly in her arms.
Kaoru had already prepared everything in advance for his wife and youngest daughter, even setting up the bed, so Ai was able to finish bathing comfortably and lie down.
Aqua, with his rich medical experience and knowledge in obstetrics and gynecology, stayed by her side almost every day and kept checking on Ai and Ame’s condition.
"Waaah..."
"......"
"......"
"......"
"Pffft-"
Ai took a photo with her phone of Kaoru and the twins standing in a circle around Ame as they stared at her intently from the bed.
Unable to hold back her laughter at the sight of her husband and the twins completely absorbed in Ame, she said in a happy voice,
"Ame, it’s time for milk~!"
And so the Hoshino family’s new everyday life, filled with unending laughter, went on.
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