DING DONG
The sound of the bell rang through the house, interrupting Ken from his workout on the first floor.
Daichi was still reviewing film and he wasn’t sure what the others were doing, so he quickly toweled himself off and made his way to the door.
‘Who would be visiting at this hour?’ He thought like an old man.
However, upon opening the door, his jaw dropped.
“Mom!?”
Lo and behold, his mother was out the front of the door with a suitcase beside her wearing an eager expression. Ken wasn’t sure he’d ever seen her make a face like this, so it was quite confronting.
“Where is she?” Yuki said, walking past Ken as if he was just a decoration.
“Ai should be upstairs… What are you doing he—”
Before he could finish his sentence, his mother placed the suitcase in front of him and kicked her shoes off before running up the stairs like a woman on a mission. He could only stare at her retreating figure with confusion.
Feeling incredulous, he closed the door and collected her bag before going to see what kind of commotion his mother was about to cause.
When he arrived, he saw Yuki fussing over Ai, her expression filled with smiles.
“Oh honey, you look skinny. Has Kenny not been feeding you well? Don’t worry, Oba-chan is here to look after you.” Yuki stated.
Ken stared blankly, almost not believing what he was seeing.
He had told his mother only a couple of days prior that Ai was pregnant, yet here she was, showing up unannounced at his house. She barely said a word to him, rushing to his wife instead.
Yuki’s gaze snapped to him, “Where is your kitchen? My grandbaby needs food.”
Ken could only lift his finger and point to the direction. He was afraid that she might admonish him if he didn’t give her the answer she wanted.
“Wait here honey, I’ll fix you up some food.” Yuki said sweetly, patting Ai on the stomach.
Ken and Ai’s gaze met as they both shot each other a questioning look. Seeing the shock and confusion in each others faces, they both laughed.
His mother arriving had been unexpected, but it was not out of character for her. Before long, the kitchen was producing a fragrant smell which lit up the house.
“How come you don’t have the necessities?” Yuki complained to Ken, “I know we’re in America, but my grandbaby is Japanese. He needs to experience our culture, even in the womb.”
“We don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet mom.” Ken replied, feeling exasperated.
For the past 30 minutes she had been scolding him on various things, giving him a nagging like he’d never experienced before.
“Nonsense, I can tell that my grandbaby is a boy. I have no doubts in my mind.” Yuki stated, waving a spatula at him. “Now go brew some tea for your pregnant wife, she is carrying your son after all.”
So Ken was quickly put to work by his mother in his own house. However, instead of making him feel stifled, he actually felt warm inside.
“Eh!? Mom?” Daichi walked down the stairs alongside Miho.
Yuki gave him a cursory look, “Hello Daichi dear, and you Miho.” She said. Her eyes gazed towards Miho’s stomach briefly before shaking her head and returning to cooking.
Miho’s face turned red and she suddenly felt ashamed. Daichi on the other hand blinked a few times, not knowing how to respond to the non-verbal attack they’d just experienced.
Miho’s hand reached for his own and she whispered, “I think she’s upset that I’m not pregnant yet…”
“It would seem that way…” Daichi replied dully.
He turned and saw that Ken was being put to work, which seemed to lighten his spirits a little. Especially when he saw that his mother was giving him a grilling for every little thing.
He tried to hold back his laugh, but Ken saw it and sent him a glare.
“Wouldn’t it be great if my child had another baby to play with growing up.” Ken said, to no one in particular. “How I wish there was another couple I was close with who could have a kid soon…”
A grin crept onto Ken’s face as he turned to Daichi.
Yuki nearby flinched and stopped what she was doing. She raised her head slowly and locked eyes with Daichi, “Yes… Wouldn’t that be amazing?”
Feeling the two pairs of eyes on him, Daichi suddenly felt flustered.
“M—Mom, we’re not even married yet.” He retorted.
Ken shrugged, “Times are changing bro, many people are having kids out of wedlock.”
“Y—You…”
“It’s fine Kenny, don’t pressure them.” Yuki said, however her words were not convincing.
“Uwahhh, who’s cookin’? It smells great!” Tetsu walked into the room and announced, smelling the air.
Naomi was alongside him, wearing a curious expression. It was only when she saw Yuki that her face changed. “Yuki! What are you doing here?”
“Eh? Yuki?”
Ken’s mother raised her head and smiled, “Naomi, Tetsu. Forgive the intrusion, I just came to make sure my grandbaby was being fed well.
‘This is my house though…’ Ken muttered in his heart.
“Not at all. After all, it’s not like its our house.” Naomi replied, her face turning a little red from embarrassment.
“Why don’t you come give me a hand?” Yuki asked before shooing Ken out of the kitchen.
The two mothers then began to work together in the kitchen, relieving Ken of his duties. He was still sweaty from his workout, so he decided to go and shower before dinner was ready.
Upon returning, everyone was at the large table in the open dining room. Yuki had cooked a feast, using almost all of the food in the house.
Rohan who appeared a little later was dumbstruck. 7 people around the table speaking Japanese and eating a whole lot of food.
He tried to sneak past but was discovered by Ken who forced him to join. The night was jovial as everyone enjoyed a meal together like one big family.
