Work Text:
“Those words… were definitely not a lie…”
It tasted so bitter, Ai thought, how only now could she finally find love. Here, cradling her baby boy in her bloodied arms, while her daughter stood on the other side of that glass door, able to see but not touch, feel but not grasp, the tragedy before her; she didn’t know which was more heart-wrenching.
Yet still, she felt elation in her heart, faintly bursting against the fading hollowness in her chest, and now leaking out as newfound tears.
Was it funny, how even now the world seemed to feel more real, more alive, as she was on her last breaths? How she could so vividly feel the searing sting of her wound; taste the metallic tang of her own blood in her mouth; hear Ruby’s confused cries beyond the pane; and the drip-drop of Aqua’s own tears on her bloodied dress?
Fate was so cruel, she thought, to give her this gift before they ripped her away from her children.
She supposed that newfound bloom could no longer hold out. She felt it first in her fingers, cool numbness taking its place. That inky feeling slowly crept through her, up her hands, her arms, her heart. The tang receded, the sting as well, but even as the corners of her vision closed in, she could still feel her tears pouring forth.
Her sorrow was all she had left to give, as the void consumed the last of her sight.
‘I’m so sorry. Ruby, Aqua.’
Hoshino Ai had never thought much of what lay on the other side. There were always more pressing matters to attend to in her life. Her mother’s cruelties; houses that never felt like homes; grueling hours put into her career; and of course, her twins, Ruby and Aqua, who made every single second of her life before then seem worth it, if only for the chance to be their mother.
But now, she thought, perhaps she should have given it more thought.
It was the light that caught her first. It enveloped her, scalded her senses, and dispelled any sense of the void that once grasped her. Warmth bloomed around her, as the silence surrounding at once rose to a crescendo of noise too disjointed and ear-fracturing for her to make sense of.
It was too much, the worry and confusion and all of those little feelings wormed her way into… well… she supposed not her gut anymore if she still had one, up through her and came screaming in a cry.
It just felt… right to her. She was gone, she no longer had to play the strong mother in front of her two children, she felt… as if for once in her life she could cry to her heart's content. A deluge that could no longer be stopped, as she screamed and wailed. Crying for the life she lost, for those she left behind, and the utter confusion at what her being beyond life had come to.
It was in the midst of this, so wrapped up in her lament, that she didn’t notice the blanket swaddling around her, the muted grasp of hands that clutched it. She didn’t see the weary smile, so soft that one could barely notice the curl of her lips.
But she did hear those words, whispered to her with warmth until now she could never describe.
“She’s beautiful…”
It was a while before Ai could recover, the pangs and hics echoing through her as she tried her best to stop and breathe. It took longer still, to recognize where she was.
Polished wooden floors, walls painted soft blues and beiges. A window outside lets in the soft evening rays into the rest of the room. Almost like a cozy bedroom, were it not for the presence of sleek white machinery, paneled ceiling and lights overhead, and the faint smell of sweat and disinfectant clinging in the air.
It was a disjointing juxtaposition at first, though one slightly remedied by the presence of people garbed in scrubs and lab coats nearby.
A delivery room? Well, it was certainly much fancier than the one she gave birth in all those years ago. Then again, the hospital was in the middle of nowhere, so perhaps they were somewhere bigger. If only she could move herself to the window and see…
Ah, right. She was a baby now.
It felt so crazy to her. Reincarnation? Like in those thousand-yen light novels you’d pick out in the back of the store? There was no way…
And yet… it felt too real to be anything otherwise. How else could she explain her mild irritation at the glaring lights overhead, or the doldrum beeps of the heart rate monitor to her side?
How else would she explain the nervous figure of a blond man on her left, leaning over her and the black-haired woman currently holding her in her arms, a grasp so secure it could hold up the world.
“She has your hair, Kaguya.” the blonde says, as she glances up at her… holder? Mother? Kaguya?
Dark clinging locks of hair hang and drape over her, loosely framing a pair of tired blood-red eyes. Even still, Ai cannot deny the wellspring of joy and relief that lay behind that expression.
“And your eyes as well, Miyuki,” her mother replies, “A fair trade don’t you think?”
Her father, evidently Miyuki, smiles. “Well, I think I would’ve loved any combination.” He says, leaning over to give Ai a kiss on her forehead, and then another on Kaguya’s cheek.
Ai’s new parents, she thought, were quite the lovebirds. Newlyweds perhaps? They seemed young enough, though obviously not as young as she was back then. Perhaps if she had her father’s hair, she might’ve looked more like…
Ah, there it went again.
As her newborn began her latest outburst, Kaguya slowly rocks her in her arms, a gentle motion like the breeze. “Shh… it’s alright my little love.”
“Speaking of ‘little love’,” Miyuki said, “I think we’re both in agreement that—”
It’s unfortunate then, that Miyuki was interrupted by the door slamming open, a frazzled nurse falling in with clipboard in hand.
“Pardon me, but there’s a large group of people here outside wanting to see you all.” The nurse adjusts her scrubs. “I’ve tried telling them that they need to wait until you recover, but they’ve been—” the nurse startles at a muffled sound outside the room, before sighing, “insistent.”
Kaguya hums, adjusting her hold of Ai. “No no, it’s quite alright. They’ve probably been waiting for a while.”
“Are you sure?” asked Miyuki. “You’ve just given birth. They could always come back tomorrow.”
Kaguya shoots him a knowing look. “Miyuki, we both if I went to sleep right now, they'd just stay the night anyway.”
“You’re not wrong…” Shirogane says, glancing over at the door.
The nurse, as if resigned to their fate, shrugs and turns back to the door. With it open, the flood breaks loose.
There must be something up with her new parents, Ai ponders. What with all the odd friends that came to visit.
“I wish I could stay longer,” said Chika, “but you know my dad still needs my help with work.”
She puts her phone away with a sigh, before turning all her attention to Ai. “But I won’t waste any time with you, isn’t that right you lil’ cutie!”
A pink-haired suit that seemed to flip between doting and professional…
“Remember: Back on your forearms, head in your elbow’s crook…” Miko lectured Ishigami.
“Yes yes,” he replied, adjusting his hold of Ai under her scrutiny. “I remember the lessons we took.”
“Good,” Miko said. “I want to make sure we’ve got this down perfectly for… you know…” She blushed as she moved to help her partner’s grip, her engagement ring shining with the evening light.
A pair of bickering fiances whose barbs seemed as sharp as foam swords…
“Hm… so I suppose I’ve been promoted to a ‘Grandfather Independently Livestream—”
“Please don’t finish that sentence Dad.”
And… was that 500 Million Yen in Debt? The divorced dad streamer with the cool voice?
How unexpected, she thought, that she’d be reincarnated as his granddaughter.
The stream of people hardly seemed to abate, even as the sun dipped below the windowsill and the golden rays on the nearby table faded out. They all seemed cute, in their own ways. So unlike her former acquaintances.
Though, the person that truly caught her eye was the one who came long after the others left. Blonde hair cut shoulder-length, blue eyes like her father (siblings perhaps?), and well out of breath by the looks of her pants while she leaned on the doorway.
“Hahh… sorry I’m late, I booked a flight as soon as I could when I heard the news.”
Miyuki came up to give her a hug, taking her to Kaguya’s bedside. “Don’t be sorry, we know that you were on an important trip. Europe, right?”
“Marseille, actually. It’s beautiful this time of year.” She pauses, momentarily reminiscing before a flash of remembrance crosses her face. “I almost forgot!”
She goes to pull out something from her bag. ‘C’est une fille!’, the front of the magnet exclaimed.
“The flight was so rushed I almost didn’t have the time to get you all anything.”
Kaguya, her fatigue now fully caught up to her, wearily goes to grasp the magnet in her hand, turning it over and examining it. “How prescient, that you picked out the right one.”
A small blush, before the visitor dug back into the bag again.
‘C'est un garçon!’
“They had a 2-for-1 sale actually.”
Silence, for a moment. Then, a low snicker that grows into the heartiest laugh Ai had heard since a life long since passed. Kaguya wipes a tear from her eye and looks up at the visitor.
“We’ve missed you Ai.”
The small chat continued after that. Her parents pile on question after question for Ai, the older one she means. How she’s been, how’s her trip, and everything under the sun. The visitor smiles and responds to every question with a bright smile and a fun story.
How lovely, Ai muses, the friendship these three have. If only her relationships could’ve been like theirs. Like the other Ai, she wishes.
In a way, her prayer is answered.
“So…” the older Ai says, now holding her in her arms. She peers down to look her in the eyes, an inquisitive look in her own. “Have you two thought of a name for her?”
Miyuki and Kaguya look towards each other, smiles forming on their faces as if some silent joke between them, before turning back to face her.
“We were thinking… Ai. After you.”
Eyes widened. A hand goes up to her namesake’s mouth, covering it as if trying to keep the emotions from spilling out. Too late, Ai thinks, as the first signs of tears begin to show.
Though… maybe the wrong emotion, as Ai makes out the start of a stifled laugh, and the subtle lift of her eyes as if she were smiling too.
“You know… weren’t we all talking about how weird it was when Nagisa named her son after Maki a couple years back?”
“This is completely different!” Kaguya shot back, a small pout beginning to form.
“It was weird since Maki was her best friend. But you…” Kaguya pauses, “You’ve always been like a sister to me.”
She’s still, statuesque for a moment, as the laughter fades out. Then, the tears truly come out in full force, as her namesake goes to embrace Kaguya.
“I accept,” Ai the elder says, “just promise me… you won’t do anything crazy like name your next one ‘Chika’, alright?”
A wry smile broadens on her mother’s face, as she reaches out her arms to return the hug, before scooping Ai back into her grasp.
“Of course, we wouldn’t want her ego to inflate any bigger than it is.”
Ruby red eyes look down, the fire within renewed.
Ah, so this was…
“Welcome to the world, Shirogane Ai.”