Aizaki Kawada trudged home after his grueling high school match, his mind replaying his encounter with the strange Esperion scout. As he pushed the front door open, the sweet aroma of his meat simmering in boiling oil welcomed him. He licked his lips as the thought of savoring his mother's cooking crossed his mind.
However, his excitement faded as he saw his elder brother, Takashi, sitting in the living room, waiting for him with a solemn expression.
"Takashi, what's going on?" Aizaki asked, anxiety creasing his forehead.
Takashi's gaze met his, he hesitated and let out a long sigh before saying, "Mom's in the hospital. I think there might be something wrong with the pregnancy."
"What!! How? What's happened?"
Aizaki asked, spitting out his words in rapid-fire.
"It happened when I got home from your game. She was sitting in the living room when suddenly she screamed. I rushed in from the kitchen only to find her bleeding. I took her to the hospital, and came back home to get you."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let go!!" Aizaki screamed as they quickly stopped a cab and rushed to the hospital.
The atmosphere around the two brothers was tense, worry gnawing at them. Aizaki's heart raced the whole duration of the journey. He silently prayed that nothing bad would happen, as he urged the driver to speed up. He had finally gotten a good relationship with his parents that he had always longed for in his past life, and he didn't want anything to ruin it.
The sterile white walls seemed to close in as they entered the maternity ward, and the tension in the air thickened with each step.
Finally, they reached the room and pushed the door wide open, expecting the worst. But to their surprise, their mother was there, cradling a newborn in her arms. Himari Kawada look up to see her two sons looking at her their concerned faces morphine into relief. She gave them a tired smile as she motion for them to come closer.
Relief washed over Aizaki, and he let out a sigh he didn't realize he had been holding, while thanking the gods for the miracle.
His thoughts wandered and he looked at the newborn sleeping in his mother's arms. Just as he was about to celebrate the new addition to the Kawada family, Takashi burst into laughter behind him.
Aizaki, looking bewildered, looked at him and asked "What's so funny?"
Takashi struggled to compose himself but it proved more difficult than he expected. He suppressed a grin and said,
"It was a prank, little brother. Mom and the baby are perfectly fine."
Aizaki's mind blanked at that moment. He looked at his brother and back to his mother who was shaking her head as if to tired to scold his antics. His initial shock gave way to a mixture of relief and irritation as he practically growled in annoyance
"Seriously? You scared me half to death! I almost had a god damn heart attack!!"
His outburst seem to make Takashi happy as he burst out in another round of laughter, tears spilling from his eyes.
"Oh my god, you should have seen the look on your face!! I almost died from holding back my laughter! You won't forget today any time soon, at least I know I won't."
Aizaki shook his head as he chose to ignore his elder brother's antics. He walked up to his mother and picked up the baby as he asked.
"So what's my little sisters name?"
His mother smiled as she replied, "Jun. Jun Kawada."