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Part VII:

Naomi seemed to have worn herself out a bit, so I decided to see how Hanako and Refia were doing up close. On the way I nearly knocked into Kenji, who was having an adamant conversation with George and Akira about Kenji’s latest adventure book we were working on, which followed up on the one we had written involving a werewolf.

“It’s a perfectly viable plot line,” I heard Akira state, “no one ever uses traditional zombies, so it’d be a good change of pace.”

“Zombies are too played out,” George countered, “and besides, what the heck would a Haitian witch doctor be doing in Scotland anyway?”

“Stranger things have happened,” Akira stated, catching my eye with a tense expression.

I suppressed a shudder as I walked past; I really, really didn’t like remembering that incident. Between the witch and the reawakened corpses, it had been a bad week all around.

Hanako noticed me as I walked over, and once I was close enough I asked, “Having fun?”

Hanako nodded, her broad grin making me reflexively smile in turn, “everyone is.”

“I’m not so sure about Maki,” I stated.

“She’ll be fine,” Naomi declared, standing to my left, “she gets along well with everyone once she gets to know ‘em.”

“She’s just shy, ‘s all,” Natsume added.

“I think I hear her and the twins,” Lilly interjected, her head tilted slightly toward our right.

I turned slightly and saw she was right; Carry and Chise were dragging Maki toward us. Maki looked anxious as the twins halted in front of Hanako and pushed Maki forward, grinning widely as they shoved Maki to the forefront.

“Ta-da!” they declared, gesturing towards the older girl with a flourish of their arms, “We found her! Well, Khaki and Kaki did.”

Nickname terms with Miki’s children already; God help us all. The furrowed brow etched into Lilly’s features demonstrated she likely had similar worries as I did.

Natsume frowned and asked, “They weren’t givin’ you grief, were they?”

Maki shook her head and stared at the floor as she stated, “they were nice, just… enthusiastic.”

“Like us!” the twins replied, “we need to come here more often!”

Hanako chuckled and shifted slightly to look at Maki, “I’m glad you decided to come, Maki.”

Maki glanced up, and, noticing Hanako’s smile, started to smile herself, “sorry I didn’t say hi earlier, Hana-bachan.”

I suppressed a smirk as Hanako visibly twitched at Maki’s choice of honorific, but she kept calm and said, “It’s alright, I’m just glad you came. How have you been?”

Maki slowly started talking to Hanako naturally, opening up to her and easing out of her shyness and anxiety, however temporarily. Naomi and Natsume were obviously delighted at the change, smiling warmly as Maki started acting more like the chatty, friendly little girl she generally was.

The twins wandered off after a few seconds, and so did Naomi, who looked like she wanted to talk to Miya, or had just seen something shiny. Akira eventually came over to talk to Natsume, and I just stood there for a while, enjoying seeing Hanako mingle with her family and delighting in a day that had once made her feel miserable and alone.

The door opened and I turned to see Mio pop her head into the room again, “the Hakamichi’s are here.”

“Kenji, behave,” I called over to him.

Kenji glanced up from his conversation with Akio and George, “I will if they do.”

The door swung open and Misha hopped into the room, wearing a pink dress that would have matched her long hair, were it not back to its original brown luster, “we’re here~, Hanachan!”

Shizune, wearing a simple black dress with her hair in a long ponytail, appeared behind Misha. She smiled at Hanako and signed something over Misha’s head. Hanako, who had a rudimentary understanding of sign language, replied. Once she had, Shizune tapped Misha’s shoulder to help her order drinks with one hand, using the other to slightly readjust her black framed glasses. Once that task was completed, the two walked in to join the party. Well, Shizune did; Misha bolted for Hanako to grab her in a hug. Hanako had enough time to stand up and pass Refia over to me before Misha grabbed her.

“Hi, Hanachan~!” Misha chirped.

“Hey, Misha,” Hanako replied, returning the hug, “how are you?”

“Great~!” Misha replied, breaking off from the hug after a moment and discreetly passing Hanako a small envelope.

I smiled as I saw Hanako flush lightly and stuff the envelope into a pocket. I knew it was the traditional gift that Misha and Shizune gave Hanako; a large donation to the orphanage that she had grown up in.

I felt Shizune stand next to me and turned my head to nod. Shizune grabbed my left hand and started using deaf-blind sign to say, [hello.]

Since I was holding Refia with my right arm, it was a bit awkward for me to converse with Shizune, but I managed to respond with a greeting of my own. Refia waved lightly at Shizune, who smiled and returned it.

[Looks like everyone made it,] Shizune stated, [Hideaki’s on business in Tokyo, I’m afraid. He sends his regards, of course.]

[Thank you for relaying them], I replied.

I heard the stampeding of small feet and glanced over as the twins, Akio, Satomi, Maki, and Hanaye –dragging Thomas with her- crowded around Misha. Misha greeted them all in her usual manner before picking up Maki and hugging her lightly.

I set down Refia to join the crowd, using both hands to do so. When my left hand was free again, Shizune took it to sign, [she’s always been great with kids.]

I nodded; Misha was an excellent aunt.

Miya, cradling Hisato in her arms, joined the crowd of kids, as did Kenji, who gave a curt nod to Shizune, which she returned.

[You two play nice,] I warned her.

[I will if he does,] Shizune retorted, her eyes glinting lightly, as if she secretly hoped Kenji would start an argument.

I rolled my eyes and watched as Misha took it in turns to pick up and hug each child. When Miki’s kids came over to see what the fuss was about, they, too, found themselves the receivers of an Aunt Misha Hug of Awesomeness (patent pending offer void in the Kurile Islands and Arizona.) Misha concluded the round of children greetings by cradling Hisato for a moment, while Kenji spoke with George a few chair lengths away as the kids’ attention spans started to give way and they slowly wandered off.

“I’ll be back in a sec,” Miki stated, passing by me and nodding to Shizune, “gotta get the food ready.”

I nodded and walked over to Misha, who was cooing to Hisato.

“Who’s a good Little One~?” she asked the infant. Hisato, his eyes blearily open, smiled up at her, and Misha beamed a huge, toothy grin, “that’s right, you are!”

“Hey Misha,” I said, “You seem to be having fun.”

Misha glanced at me and nodded, “yup, yup~! It’s so great to be part of a big family~! They’re so much fun~!”

“That they are,” Hanako stated from her nearby seat.

Misha, sighing lightly, carefully returned Hisato to his mother. He started fussing a bit, so Miya wandered off to console him.

“Anyone else coming?” Misha asked me, now signing everything she said, as Shizune was still standing next to me.

I nodded, “Emi and Kwan said they could make it.”

“Oh, she finished her physical therapy~?” Misha asked.

I shrugged, “I guess so, though when you’re your own PT, it could be hard to say.”

“Hey folks,” Miki called from the door, which was being held open by two waiters while several more started bringing in the platters and whatnot for the meal, “food’s here. Oh, and Kwan called and said they’d be here soon.”

Part VIII:

Since Emi and Kwan were going to be late, Miki and Kenji had decided a Western style banquet layout would be best for the food, with the obligatory cake arriving after they showed up. It gave the kids plenty of variety, at least. Once the food was out and drinks refilled, everyone settled down to sit and eat.

Miya and Misha sat on one side of the kids, with Misha next to the twins so they could converse in English if they wanted, while the rest of us more or less sat in couples, though Akira and Hanako flanked the children for maximum effectiveness. Since Shizune and Misha were separated, Shizune sat next to Lilly to facilitate communication. Miki continued to hover around, as much a guest herself as a hostess/manager. As she wandered, she paused to take photos, using an expensive looking camera that apparently didn’t require a flash.

Once everything settled down, Mio, who had helped unload the food, trotted off to tend to other customers, returning every now and then to check on things. The food itself was good, and the conversation rather meandering and trivial, though Kachiro and Akio ended up having a very passionate debate on their favorite TV shows. Naomi almost never stopped jabbering, but she was sitting next to Hanako and hadn’t seen her in a while, so it made sense. Unfortunately, because I was on the other side of Hanako, I ended up getting an earful myself.

“Mimi, for God’s sake breathe,” Nutsume pleaded after a while, “you’re startin’ to worry me.”

Naomi turned to glare at her partner, but said nothing, which was a minor miracle in itself.

“So how you been, Hana?” Natsume asked before Naomi could start up again, “heard you been working on a new book series?”

Hanako flushed lightly and nodded, “sort of. It’s in the same setting, but follows some of the fringe characters from the main series; what they did and were doing while the main protagonists were doing things. I also have a similar idea for some of the antagonist’s.”

“Though she wouldn’t take my advice on the matter,” I interjected.

Hanako sighed and glanced at me, “your suggestions were based on episodes of The Venture Brothers. That kind of stuff might work for those adventure books you and Kenji write-”

“Which you help edit,” I noted.

“But I happen to appeal to a higher calling then pulp fiction,” Hanako finished.

“Hey!” Kenji snapped from his spot a few chairs down, “you may be the first Japanese citizen to win an Ovid Prize, but don’t forget Terror in the Night won the Man Asian Literary Prize!”

“It probably helped that we had a good translator,” I added, nodding toward Akira, who had done a hell of a lot more then translate our writing.

Akira shrugged, “I figured I owed you for forgetting your backup meds.”

“You did help board up the summer home from the storm damage,” I countered, repressing a shudder at the memories of that night with some difficulty.

“Right,” Hanako said, eyeing me carefully while she sipped her wine, “storm damage. To a window, a door, the roof, and the walls.”

“And the siding,” Akira added, “those kinda things happen randomly like that, it seems.”

Hanako nodded, deciding not to press the issue, for which I was grateful. Akira shot me a glance, but didn’t say anything further, and neither did I.

A moment after that little fiasco, the door opened and Mio once again popper her head in, “The Kotobuki’s are here.”

“Took ‘em long enough,” I heard Kenji grumble.

“Play nice,” I instructed, waving a finger at Kenji. After he reluctantly nodded I pointed my finger at Shizune, “Lilly, could you tell Shizune to behave, too? I know she and Emi never got along very well.”

Lilly nodded, “I’ll relay the message.”

While Lilly tended to that, Hanako and I stood up to great our guests. Miki joined us in walking towards the door, which was opened by Mio as the two trotted in, their two kids not far behind them.

“We’re here!” Emi declared, her light brown hair up in a ponytail, and her new augmetic legs covered with a baggy pair of khaki pants, “sorry we’re late!”

“No problem,” I said, “hey, Kwan.”

Kwan, his long black hair trailing down his back and held out of his face with a blue headband, nodded a greeting, as did his son, Jin-ho, from behind him. Their daughter, Ruka, was standing behind her mother. Jin-ho was a little older then Akio and already almost as tall as Emi, with light brown hair and his father’s slightly darker skin tone. Ruka was even older, already around ten years old, with her mother’s eyes and long black hair, though she tended to dye it in a rainbow pattern, with wide streaks of red, blue, and green. It looked ridiculous, but she liked it and hated it when people –especially her mother- dissed her hair.

“Hey, Mr. Nakai!” Ruka chirped, as energetic and bubbly as her mother.

“Hey, Skittles,” I greeted, “glad you guys could make it.”

“Hey, Mrs. Nakai!” Ruka called to Hanako, and dashed off to give her a hug, her brother slowly following.

“Well,” Emi said, glancing at her daughter’s hair as it billowed behind her, “the only reason I could make it was the Olympic guys are debating whether my new legs give me an advantage or not,” it was then that Emi noticed Miki, who had been standing off to the side slightly. When she saw her, Emi jumped excitedly and exclaimed, “Oh! Hey Miki!”

“Hey!” Miki said, stepping forward to shake Emi’s hand, “heard you got some new legs! You used Kyocera, right?”

Emi shook Miki’s hand eagerly, then spent a moment to glance at the augmetic one as she responded, “yeah, not the best company, I know, but hard to beat the price of ‘free.’”

“Well, sponsorship,” Kwan clarified.

“If it weren’t for that I’da just gone to the States and gotten ‘em from Sarif Industries,” Emi said, “oh, Miki, this is my husband, Kwan. Kwan, this is Miki from high school.”

“The tomboy that went bar fighting for a decade before sobering up,” Kwan surmised as he, too, shook Miki’s augment.

Miki grinned and nodded, “Guilty. As for Kyocera, they may be a tech gen or three behind, but holy hell is their crap durable. My Otori job seems to need a tune up every other week.”

“Well, maybe if you didn’t snap pencils as a parlor trick…” I mused.

Miki glanced at me and stuck out her tongue.

“At least your implants are up to date,” Emi stated, “I swear mine needs to be reconfigured to prevent rejection once a month.”

“Yeah, Otori is tech stable, no doubt there,” Miki mused.

“Still,” I interjected, “you should consider Sarif. Besides being the most advanced augment company on the planet, they have the lowest rejection rate and the least invasive neural implant program.”

Emi rolled her eyes, “says the man who has dinner with the company’s president once a month.”

Part IX:

I shrugged, “that has nothing to do with it; my interest in Sarif is entirely academic.”

And they had a new pacemaker I was thinking abut getting. Considering the number of times I had nearly shorted out my heart via explosion-based concussion, it seemed like a good idea if I wanted at least a chance of seeing my grandkids.

“Wait,” I said, “how did you know about the dinners?”

“Sarif’s twitter feed,” Kwan replied, “He really enjoys Hanako’s cooking.”

“Oh.”

Ruka and Jin-ho eventually stopped crowding around Hanako, darting for the table to get some food, and as she stood up Emi bounded over to greet her.

“Hanako, it’s so great to see you!” she chirped, grabbing Hanako in a vertically challenged hug.

Hanako, startled slightly by the umpteenth hug of the evening, said, “Y-you, too; I’m glad to see you in person again!”

“Yeah,” I said, “the last time you guys were in town, Hanako was pregnant with Satomi.”

“Sorry about that!” Emi stated, still hugging Hanako, “it’s just first I got pregnant, then we got married, then we had to move for Kwan’s job –your grandmother’s a racist, by the way-”

“I know,” Kwan sighed, “The only reason she talks to either of us at this point is because we agreed to name one child with a Korean name.”

“Which hasn’t been a problem at all here,” Emi grumbled, “I swear, if one more kid calls him a Zainichi, I’m going to kick their ass, and never mind what your father calls Ruka-”

“Ahem,” Miki coughed into her right hand, “can we focus? Not that I don’t mind complaining about narrow-minded jackasses every now and then.”

“Right,” Emi said, finally pulling away from Hanako, “anyway, then I got pregnant again and then the training, and now the new legs, so it’s been really hectic.”

“Depending on the Commission’s decision,” Kwan said, “Emi may have to start training for the summer Olympics.”

“That won’t be for a bit, though,” Emi stated, “so! I get to see you, Mom, Nurse, and everyone else for a while! Is Setou here?”

I nodded, “him and his wife and son are here, yeah.”

Emi shook her head in amusement, smirking lightly as she mused, “I still can’t believe he got married.”

“It surprises me, too,” Hanako added.

“Ditto,” Miki stated.

“Kinda snuck up on me, too,” Kenji declared.

All five of us jumped and I whirled around to see Kenji and Miya, who was cradling Hisato as the two stood behind us.

“Hey, Emi,” Kenji said, “Kwan.”

“Hey,” Emi said, a little sheepishly as she glanced at Miya and bowed, “Mrs. Setou, it’s an honor to meet you.”

Miya smiled and airily waved her hand as best she could, “Oh please, call me Miya, and the Little One here is Hisato.”

“Well,” Miki said, clapping her hands together, “how about we continue this conversation at the table? Mio, get their drink orders, okay?”

Mio, who had been silently standing by the double doors the entire time, nodded and said, “On it, Boss.”

Everyone followed Miki’s advice, and between Emi and Naomi, conversation kept up at a rapid pace, with Emi doing most of the talking, while Ruka asked Misha about hair care advice. It was a fun and lively night that everyone enjoyed, except maybe Mio, who in addition to being our waitress, had to pass me an envelope that had arrived by courier some time after dinner, when everyone was mingling and digesting cake.

“Thanks,” I said, shoving the envelope in the pocket of my shirt, under the sweater vest.

“No problem,” Mio replied, bowing lightly and trotting off to refill waters.

I scanned the room to look for Hanako, which gave me a chance to see what everyone was up to. Misha and Shizune were chatting with Lilly and Akira, while Daichi, George, and Kwan sat off to the side, having a conversation of their own. Naomi and Natsume were talking with Miya, who had handed Hisato over to Kenji, who carefully cradled his son while rambling about something to Akio, Jin-ho, Thomas, Hanaye, and Kaki and Khaki. Ruka and Carry and Chise were talking with Maki, who seemed much calmer then when she had first arrived. Miki was talking with Satomi and Refia, while not far from them, Emi was chattering away with Hanako, with what looked like occasional input from Miki.

Catching Hanako’s attention with a wave, she nodded and continued talking with Emi as I wandered over.

“…I mean, I don’t want to flat out say ‘don’t dye your hair, it looks like a unicorn threw up on her head,” Emi was saying, “but she’s too damn young to be doing that kind of thing, isn’t she?”

“She’s under a lot of stress,” Hanako stated, “all the moving around is probably hard on her, and her ability to make social connections, which makes it harder for her to form her own identity. Couple that with normal adolescence, and you have a good recipe for her wanting to stand out and define herself in her own way.”

“There are worse ways for her to act out and define herself,” Miki interjected.

Emi sighed and nodded, “I know, but… it looks terrible!”

“Making her remove it will just make things worse,” I interjected, surprising Emi slightly with my arrival, “it’s just a phase thing, so it should work out on its own.”

“Its other signs of trouble you gotta worry about,” Miki said, “and as someone who knows said signs from personal experience, I’d say you’re doing great.”

Emi smirked and nodded, “I know, I know. This crap ain’t easy on me either, though.”

I glanced at Miki and tapped my chest, indicating the envelope. Miki nodded and turned slightly to face Emi better.

“Hey, Emi, could you come say hi to my kids again? Ever since I got the new hand they’ve really been into augment tech and science stuff.”

Emi shrugged, apparently not phased by the sudden shift in conversation, “Sure, I guess. I got enough people gawking at the things for official reasons, may as well help some budding future nerds.”

“Nothing wrong with nerds,” Hanako declared, smiling at me.

“Can we see, too?” Satomi asked, while Refia’s gaze wandered at whatever movement there was, though she focused on Emi long enough to nod along with her sister’s suggestion.

Emi nodded, “sure, what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t let the King of the Nerds’ kids see them up close? Make sure to take notes so he can email Mr. Sarif about how inferior they are to his stuff.”

“Maybe if they do I could get a deal on a new pacemaker,” I quipped, although since David Sarif owed me a favor, I could probably get one for free if I asked nicely enough.

When the other four trotted off, Hanako stepped closer. Smiling at me, she leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek, “thank you for tonight. I had a fun time.”

“You’re welcome,” I replied, grinning now myself. Tapping the bulge on my chest and reaching under my vest, I added, “Speaking of Mr. Sarif, he sends his regards.”

Hanako sighed, “I told him not to bother.”

“Well, you know how he is,” I mused.

Hanako nodded slowly, her eyes roving across the room at the mass of families talking, laughing, and in general having fun and mingling together as one giant group. I started to follow her gaze, so I was slightly startled when she tapped my shoulder to get my attention.

When she had it, she stepped forward and gave me a light hug, which I gently returned. As she leaned against me, she placed her head on my shoulder and whispered into my ear, “You can say it, dear. I won’t get upset.”

Nodding slightly against her shoulder, I whispered back, “Happy Birthday, Hanako.”

+++

I did not hold off on mentioning the birthday for any sort of dramatic bullcrap. I did it to demonstrate that Hisao’s concern for his wife’s triggers is very deeply ingrained. Also, bachan is the honorific equivalent of “Aunty,” (the specific honorific is “basan”) and, like Ma’am in English, pre-menopausal women tend to not like being referred to as such; if my math is right, Hanako is roughly… 32 in this special. Ether way, I think a big family gathering is a pretty impressive present for a woman who lost everything.

Wow, holy crap that was long. Can a ten thousand word story even count as a one shot? It was also pretty meandering; slice of life can do that sometimes, I guess. Hope you enjoyed it, because I had fun writing it. Still, though… it was long, and maybe a bit too meandering for some people’s taste.

Kyocera is a real Japanese medical company, which I felt like using to counter the two fictional ones I was utilizing. Players of the Deus Ex games may notice I made some deliberate changes to how augment technology works. Whether or not this is the result of the Detective Duo, I leave for you to decide.

I once again apologize for possible spoilers regarding my summer series, as that can be the hazard of writing prequels. Hopefully those of you who chose to read this won’t find the summer series story too impacted as a result, and those of you who wait will remember to come back when the time has come (and won’t get pissed off if you feel it wasn’t worth the wait.)

Anyway, on to the next great adventure! I believe it involved a lab partner and some cows… Or was it Thanksgiving? Wait, no: cows, then Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas.

Alas, such is the curse of my unquenchable desire to write and inability to work on my novels. Until next time:

/smokebomb.

So much for "just quickly checking the forum before going to bed"...
This story has to set a record for most people appearing in one scene. I admit I was was too lazy to draw a diagram, so I lost track of all the names around the time Lilly showed up.
When Shizune started talking about Hideaki I actually wondered whose husband or child that could be^^°
Myself, I don't like writing scenes with so many people. I always feel I have to describe what everyone is doing (since it is something the protagonist usually perceives) and fear that the story will become too bloated because of it^^° So I try to avoid it whenever possible, but the nature of my current fic means that it isn't always possible...

I’m gonna post it in a ton of parts so it won’t break the forum. Hopefully I will succeed in preventing that...

Well, you failed with Naomi's introduction...
BTW, I'm not sure if you implied that Natsume and Naomi are married, but that's not legal in Japan (yet) and also not likely to be in the foreseeable future.

I really, really didn’t like remembering that incident. Between the witch and the reawakened corpses, it had been a bad week all around.

Oh my... Are we going to get to read that as well?

the two trotted in, their two kids not far behind them.

Does every single one of them have to have kids? Even Naomi? ^^°

Mirage_GSM wrote: Myself, I don't like writing scenes with so many people.

Not a big fan of it myself, but I felt for this I had to; like I said, for a girl who lost everything, a big family gathering seemed like a pretty awesome present. It's also why this piece is so friggin' long.

I’m gonna post it in a ton of parts so it won’t break the forum. Hopefully I will succeed in preventing that...

Well, you failed with Naomi's introduction...

Crap. It looks fine on my end with both Firefox and IE, but I'll shuffle some stuff to try and change it. Since I can't see the problem, I apologize if it doesn't look fixed. I did work to stay under 150 lines per part, though.

BTW, I'm not sure if you implied that Natsume and Naomi are married, but that's not legal in Japan (yet) and also not likely to be in the foreseeable future.

Even by 2020-ish? ...Eh, you're probably right. They're as good as married; if the law won't recognize it, that's the law's problem (well, and there's for things like taxes and visitation rights. There's a reason their kid isn't adopted.)

Basically they're common law married, if common law recognized them as such or was a thing in Japan (which I'm not sure if it is or not; I'm not up on the origins of Japan's legal code.)

I really, really didn’t like remembering that incident. Between the witch and the reawakened corpses, it had been a bad week all around.

Oh my... Are we going to get to read that as well?

That's the plan... eventually (like next Halloween.)

the two trotted in, their two kids not far behind them.

Does every single one of them have to have kids? Even Naomi? ^^°

Shizune and Misha don't have kids. They probably won't, either.

I guess I'm just old fashioned that way; people get married and have kids. Considering the social stresses in Japan to marry young and have children, it made sense to me. Besides, someone has to fight their population decline (discounting that two of the kids are Scottish citizens.) But thanks for reading, and sorry for keeping you from bed.

BTW, I'm not sure if you implied that Natsume and Naomi are married, but that's not legal in Japan (yet) and also not likely to be in the foreseeable future.

Even by 2020-ish? ...Eh, you're probably right. They're as good as married; if the law won't recognize it, that's the law's problem (well, and there's for things like taxes and visitation rights. There's a reason their kid isn't adopted.)

But that's forbidden love!
(this message brought to you by sleep deprivation)

Since I can't see the problem, I apologize if it doesn't look fixed.

Inserting one or two blanks in that line should do the trick.

They're as good as married; if the law won't recognize it, that's the law's problem

I think you referred to them as "the Innoues"...
Not sure what this "common law" is, and I don't have the time to google it right now.

Shizune and Misha don't have kids. They probably won't, either.

Wait... Misha isn't together with that Canadian? Since you have most of your stories in the same continuum, I thought that one was as well. Now that I think of it, in that one Shizune was together with Hisao, wasn't she...

Besides, someone has to fight their population decline

Japan has a population decline, because people don't have two or three kids each couple...

Mirage_GSM wrote:

Since I can't see the problem, I apologize if it doesn't look fixed.

Inserting one or two blanks in that line should do the trick.

Blank spaces? Alright, I'll give that a shot.

They're as good as married; if the law won't recognize it, that's the law's problem

I think you referred to them as "the Innoues"...

Out of courtesy; since they're as good as married, it makes sense to refer to them as such.

Not sure what this "common law" is, and I don't have the time to google it right now.

Just a holdover from the Middle Ages in England, back when they were forming a country.

Shizune and Misha don't have kids. They probably won't, either.

Wait... Misha isn't together with that Canadian? Since you have most of your stories in the same continuum, I thought that one was as well. Now that I think of it, in that one Shizune was together with Hisao, wasn't she...

Indeed, the United States of Misha series is an entirely different continuity, based around the Shizune path. I have two universe's, MD and USM, because I enjoy writing Misha and I enjoy writing action and comedy.

Besides, someone has to fight their population decline

Japan has a population decline, because people don't have two or three kids each couple...

They're still young, give them time (actually they're all probably at the number of kids they want, except maybe Kenji, although he's concerned about his children becoming blind or having a mental disorder of some sort.)

...except maybe Kenji, although he's concerned about his children becoming blind or having a mental disorder of some sort.

Ah, I knew there was something I wanted to comment on but forgot. (That's what I get for staying up so late...)
You made Lilly's son blind.
While the reason for Lilly's blindness is never exactly specified, according to a quick internet research blindness for genetic reasons seems to occur only in some few very specific cases.
For example it seems to affect people with albinism more frequently, but I think we can rule this out for Lilly.
Another genetic condition that can cause it is called "Leber's Congenital Amaurosis", but treatments for this seem to have close to 100% success rate.
There are several other genetic causes of blindness, but all I could find were degenerative, meaning they will affect a person only in later life.
Long story short, I don't think there is genetic condition that would cause one of Lilly's children to be born blind.
Maybe SC could offer some insights on that matter, since he probably knows the exact cause of Lilly's blindness

Mirage_GSM wrote:

...except maybe Kenji, although he's concerned about his children becoming blind or having a mental disorder of some sort.

Ah, I knew there was something I wanted to comment on but forgot. (That's what I get for staying up so late...)
You made Lilly's son blind.
While the reason for Lilly's blindness is never exactly specified, according to a quick internet research blindness for genetic reasons seems to occur only in some few very specific cases.
For example it seems to affect people with albinism more frequently, but I think we can rule this out for Lilly.
Another genetic condition that can cause it is called "Leber's Congenital Amaurosis", but treatments for this seem to have close to 100% success rate.
There are several other genetic causes of blindness, but all I could find were degenerative, meaning they will affect a person only in later life.
Long story short, I don't think there is genetic condition that would cause one of Lilly's children to be born blind.
Maybe SC could offer some insights on that matter, since he probably knows the exact cause of Lilly's blindness

I contemplated the genetic angle and originally considered it, but in the end decided it was just a one in a million kinda thing; ie, her son was just as likely to be born blind as she was. How Lilly handled the news would be interesting; I mean she bought a necklace for the patron Saint of the blind, but the more detailed aspects of it would prove quite intriguing....

I try to avoid one-in-a-million-things in my stories if they are not neccessary for the plot. They tend to destroy immersion...

Mirage_GSM wrote:I try to avoid one-in-a-million-things in my stories if they are not neccessary for the plot. They tend to destroy immersion...

I figured genetics were quirky enough I could get away with it. And there was the inherited angle to fall back on, although that more or less fell through, it seems.

Why does Shizune need to use deaf-blind speech to talk to Hisao?

I think the intention was "Because he doesn't speak sign."
I think pen&paper would still be more convenient, however you can rationalize it by them trying to practice deaf-blind language.

Mirage_GSM wrote:I think the intention was "Because he doesn't speak sign."
I think pen&paper would still be more convenient, however you can rationalize it by them trying to practice deaf-blind language.

In the VN, Shizune seems to show a great deal of dislike for any form of indirect communication (pen and paper, texting, etc.) so she would most likely prefer deaf-blind sign.

And you're right; Hisao never bothered to learn sign language, because he learned deaf blind sign from Kenji, and a lesser extent Misha and Shizune. Kenji picked it up because everyone should know some form of nonverbal communication, be it military hand signals or Drow sign language.

That and his tendency to study cultures via language, history, and theology. Sorry, I'm rambling, and I have an update to post elsewhere, and a ton of other crap to do, but thanks for reading!

"We have much to do and less time to do it in." -Sir Robin of Locksley.