Chapter 166: Its so hard when the kids are going through puberty (2)

Freshly cooked red bean rice, or Sekihan as it’s called in Japan, sat on the breakfast table. Hanae, still half-asleep, immediately flushed crimson when she saw it. She’d been too flustered yesterday to fully grasp it, but now, it seemed to sink in that she was truly becoming an adult.

“Oh, oh, oh, Mommyyyy!! What is this?!”
“Hanae, congratulations~ You’re a real adult now.”
“Wow~! Congratulations, big sister~!”
“Ugh… Seriously… It’s so embarrassing!!”

Hanae’s face, including her ears, turned bright red, and she buried her head, unable to make eye contact. Watching her, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Hanae seemed to have grown taller recently. She was almost at my eye level. Hazuki had always been a little taller than Hanae, but now it seemed Hanae was growing faster.

Hazuki, who had been quietly eating her red bean rice, laughed playfully, looking at Hanae. Hazuki… she resembled Aya so much; it was captivating. Ehehe…

“Congratulations, big sister~”
“Hey…! Hazuki! Not you too!”
“Hehe, I’ll only call you big sister today.”
“Seriously… you’re going to get your period too, you know!”
“I won’t make a fuss like big sister, you know?”
“Ugh…!”

Hazuki usually hated calling Hanae “big sister,” but today, she was determined to tease her. Hanae, who often tried to play the older sister because she was born five minutes earlier, was probably a prime target for Hazuki’s long-awaited revenge.

I tried to hold back my laughter and soothe the children.

“Now, now, kids~ Stop fighting so early in the morning. Go to school, and be nice to each other, okay?”
“Okayyy…”
“Yes, Mommy!”

Hazuki’s unusually cheerful reply today was reassuring, but I still worried slightly that they might continue bickering at school. But, I suppose, this was all part of growing up, wasn’t it?

****

Yukikawa Hazuki.
Eleven years old this year, in the fifth grade of elementary school.
She started puberty around the age of nine, with female hormones gradually kicking in, and she grew up constantly bickering with her twin (older sister), Hanae. With their seven-year-younger sister, Nonoka, there was never a quiet day in the house.

“Don’t cross the line, seriously?”
“I won’t, you idiot.”
“What? You’re the idiot.”
“Anyway! Hanae, you’re just like Rina Mommy, so loud!”
“No, I’m not! Mommies said you were like Rina Mommy, right?”

Hazuki glared at Hanae on their way to school.
Both children, from a young age, loved their mothers, but they subtly began to favor one over the other. Elegant Aya Mommy, who perfectly followed the elite path, and Rina Mommy, who always smiled, lovingly cared for them, but sacrificed herself every day, like a devoted wife.

They gradually became aware of the differences between their mothers, and became sensitive to which mother they resembled. Rina Mommy would always just smile and laugh, regardless of what her daughters said, but the two daughters naturally came to admire Aya Mommy.

However, Hazuki vaguely sensed it. Although her appearance resembled Aya Mommy’s, as she went through puberty, her personality was subtly changing to resemble Rina Mommy’s. Small things that she used to ignore now irritated her, and even when she was easily satisfied, she would inexplicably lose her temper again.

These hormones, they affected one’s personality more than expected.

Hanae probably felt the same way. Both were geniuses, and they noticed each other’s subtle changes more than anyone else.

“Haa…”

Takamari Elementary School’s curriculum was quite fast-paced. Fifth graders were already solving middle school level math problems. For Hazuki, who had been learning these subjects since daycare, even this accelerated pace of learning was incredibly tedious. Since she already knew everything taught in school, Hazuki often opened her high school reference books next to her textbook to relieve her boredom.

One day, Hazuki had asked her mothers if she could transfer to a gifted school or a school with an early graduation program abroad, but their mothers’ response was firm.

“You have to graduate from Takamari Academy to truly live in Japanese high society.”

Aya Mommy, whom she admired, emphasized this point, so Hazuki had no choice but to endure the boredom of class.

Hanae, who shared the Yukikawa surname, sat next to her. Since the first period, she’d been in the nurse’s office, complaining about her period and showing no intention of coming out. Remembering how Rina Mommy would whine like a baby during her periods, Hazuki thought Hanae really did take after Rina Mommy.

But Hazuki was a little puzzled.

‘But why doesn’t it happen to me?’

Should she ask Aya Mommy about this? It felt a little embarrassing to ask. Hazuki, who had been silently pondering, regretted it that evening.

“Ah…”

A sharp cramp in her belly. She didn’t make a fuss or cry like Hanae, but Hazuki was flustered by the unexpected pain and discomfort. She thought for a moment, then headed to the study.

If she told Rina Mommy, the whole house would become noisy, and Rina Mommy would surely spread the news everywhere, saying, ‘Our Hazuki is an adult now.’
She knocked on the study door, and an elegant voice from inside replied, “Come in.”

“…Mommy.”
“Oh, Hazuki? What’s wrong?”
“Well… I also… like Hanae…”
“Ah!”

Aya Mommy immediately understood the situation and gave a dignified smile. It was the smile the twins loved, wanted to resemble, and admired. Aya Mommy closed her book, approached Hazuki, and put her arm around her shoulder.

“Is it difficult?”
“…Yes. It doesn’t hurt, but I’m a little surprised.”
“I see. Our Hazuki is growing up now.”

Hazuki leaned against Aya Mommy, feeling reassured by her warm voice. When she was little, she sometimes wondered why her family had two mommies and no daddy. Sometimes she complained about it, but not anymore. She realized how fortunate and special it was to have two mommies who could embrace her with warmth.

Hanae was similar, but in Hazuki’s heart, elegant Aya Mommy was especially an object of admiration. Aya Mommy was featured in biographies as a ‘great scientist who conquered aging,’ and if you turned on YouTube, you would often find videos praising her research achievements, and stories about Rina Mommy supporting her and lovingly embracing their family.

So, as someone born into such a special family, she too would surely be like Aya Mommy…

“Mommy was also very flustered at first.”
“Mommy too?”
“Yes. Mommy was just as surprised as Hanae and Hazuki. But don’t worry too much.”
“Why, Mommy?”
“Well, because Mommy is also a person, you know?”

Aya Mommy always emphasized that she was a ‘person.’
But to Hazuki, Aya Mommy was never ordinary. Hazuki thought Aya Mommy was like… a goddess or an angel.

Perhaps it was because she resembled Rina Mommy’s personality, but Hazuki had come to love Mommy as much as she loved her own reflection.

“So, it’s a bit difficult to talk about here, shall we go to the bathroom?”
“…Yes.”

Hazuki was a little embarrassed, but she still loved Aya Mommy.
Until the next day…

****

“Oh, Hazuki, congratulations too!”

A day later, our Hazuki finally became an adult. We had red bean rice for two days in a row, but who cared? It was a cause for celebration! This time, Hazuki’s face turned bright red, and Aya also chuckled beside me.

“Hazuki, congratulations.”
“Ah, ah, ah, Mommies!”
“Hazuki… congratulations…”
“Hanae, not you too!”
“You called me big sister yesterday.”
“I’m not big sister, I’m an adult now… Aya…”

Hazuki, unusually, whimpered a little… but, well, it would be okay, wouldn’t it? Haha…

“Hanae, are you feeling okay?”
“Ah, yes… I’m fine…”

Hanae had been looking miserable since yesterday.
Nonoka, blinking her eyes, asked the two of them. By the way, Nonoka was also a genius. Her development was even faster than the twins, which surprised me. And Nonoka resembled Reina Unni a little more than she resembled us.

“Does it hurt, Unnies?”
“No…”
“You’ll understand when you’re an adult…”
“Don’t hurt, my heart hurts too.”
“Ugh…”
“Now, now, everyone, don’t be sad, hurry up and eat and go to school?”

Hehe…
Still, I was happy to see my children growing up. I hoped they would continue to live happily ever after.
I smiled contentedly as I sent the children off to school, then slowly prepared for work. Aya, meanwhile, was still lounging on the living room sofa, showing no signs of getting up.

“Oh, Aya, aren’t you going to the lab?”
“Huh? I took a vacation.”
“Oh, right!! I’ll take a vacation too… Aya… Let’s rest together…”
“Rina, do you want to take a vacation? Should I contact them?”
“Ugh… I want to hang out with Aya. We’ve left the kids with the nanny, so it’s been a while since it was just us…”

Aya chuckled and called her father.
And… I got a week off too!