36

Katsuki

My son and I walk out of the ice cream shop. I have marked every inch of this neighborhood. I will sense it if …. Ise is here.

Dammit.

So fast? She really took the bait so easily?

So bold to be coming at me directly too. Either she's an idiot or she has some kind of trick up her sleeve. Regardless my first priority right now is my son.

I look around and my son is nowhere to be seen, "Kazue?!" I panic, my heart's already sitting at my throat.

"Over here dad!" I turn my head and he's on the park swings.

Damn idiot, there's psycho on the way, don't do stuff like that to me.

"Get down from there, we're going home. Right now." I try to be as calm as I can, at the end of the day Ise is not my son's concern, she is my problem. His mother would mob the floor with my face if I ever took out my frustrations on him.

"Okay." He jumps down running towards me super excited, how in the world did a trouble maker like me deserve such a great son?

I take his hand and he smiles up at me.

I look straight ahead and Ise is trapped in one of the shields I set up.

Good thing I overreacted.

Though, I did not expect this to be so easy. I am having a hard time being very comfortable with this, but I must take her anyway.

~

JIN

"Yow, recent development. The government is asking to stop selling our product because it's responsible for people with super powers increasing. They really mean to shut us down, by force if they have to." My brother Gin reports.

"That's alright. I'll have everything moved by tonight. If they ask us anything tell them the Ise stole the drug to sell it on the market illegally. People want more supers, that will be the cover story, alright?"

I hate having so much on my plate. I have emails, I have phone calls, back to back meetings, sleep just is not my friend.

Gin nods leaving.

I'll call Rin, he'll move the product to the cave. Kai actually suspected something like this would happen and came up with a strategy to deal with it.

Boss man always anticipated the worst, and he's always right.

We will take the drug turn it into a liquid and dump it into the water supply. I have spent the last 3 years preparing for that. On the very same day the Domei will stage a break in, into our factory and steal everything. We will dump the drug in the water supply.

It should not be loud and messy, the police must be occupied long enough to get the job done.

I'll give it maybe a month of careful planning with the team. I have been working on this all over the world.

We even have our water company starting up.

This one was Toya's idea, funny how they hated each other, but somehow thought alike.

The water also contains agents that boost the meta gene in people. It's popular in Brazil and there have been a lot of children born with powers.

No one is complaining too, no one can link the particular water companies to each other. Toya was really big on world domination. He had troops stationed at every corner of the globe.

I see why he never identified as Yakuza. He didn't want to be a crime syndicate, he wanted to be a recognised monarch in public view of the people.

How do these people think the way they do?

Like, what really goes through their mind for them to come up with such deviant schemes. To have the courage to risk it all too.

When your family is famous for being in the security industry too. What a reckless and terrifying guy Toya is.

~

Katsumi

I arrive at the airport and I am so anxious. The girls have barely left the house, so they tend to get overwhelmed when surrounded by too many people all at once.

Karin sprints and her sister follows. I run behind them and stop when they hug their grand parents.

Mom looks really good, dad has always been in good shape due to his work, so it's not really something I am wowed about, but I'm sure he'd appreciate a complement.

"You guys look really great." I say.

"Well, I sort of let myself go after you kids back then and I decided I won't do that again this time. I haven't seen these two since the day they were born." Mom comments.

"Yeah, well, I struggled to have kids and when I finally had them I feel so afraid of losing them. They took after you a lot mom." I smile and she gives Rina a hug.

"Didn't know twins were a thing in our family." She comments.

I smile faintly, "Let's just say Toya made some good choices in life sometimes." Though the bad ones are still making his family pay.

What an idiot. There's a chance I might die before they wake up too. I want to kick him around every time I think about it.

Rin is missing. I was hoping I could see them, but he disappeared after I got in contact with him 3 years ago. I am so worried.

There's no word on Yachi's whereabouts.

Ise girl was finally thrown in the meta prison. I like that, I can sleep with both eyes closed, but Katsuki still has his guard up, says it was a little too easy

Cat's really doing an excellent job filling dad's shoes. He really impressed me in fact.

Go Cat.

The family arrives at my house, the girls excited show their grand parents around. I start preparing dinner. Mom and dad must be hungry, and exhausted.

I really wish Rei was here.

The kids would have best friends for life with triplets and Kaiya around.

"Please wake up soon kids. My little girls are waiting for their best friends."

~

Rin

I wake up when the monitors in the lab signal abnormal activity.

I jump there quickly and this time it's Toya and Kai who are moving. That has to be one big sign, they have not moved a single inch in over three years, must have hurt like hell too.

I make a call to Kendo and Zero, "Toya and Kai are starting to show movement. I think they'll be waking up soon." I pay closer attention to Rei. The watch on her chest, the first one, it's moving, and really fast too.

"Rin?! Open a damn gate, I texted you my coordinates." Jin yells at me.

I check their locations and jump them here.

I point at Rei, the watch, it's actually moving.

We jump around celebrating with excitement. This is absolutely incredible.

"What do we do now?" I ask.

"It's high time the family comes to visit them. We'll bring them in and they can see it for themselves. 3 whole years is no joke." Kendo says while texting away on his phone.

"I agree, that's the right thing to do. Go get them Rin. Go tell them the family is coming home." Jin taps me on the back smiling.

Zero volunteers to come along. I'll visit the Hiryu's, he's going to visit Kai's father. They have been keeping in touch all this while. He's finally going to see his son again. He's been nothing but worried all this time.

~

Yachi

I flush the toilet looking so confused. Why am I vomiting blood? I feel so weak too.

"Are you alright?" Magenta asks. Today she's leaving, if I say anything she might stay, if I don't say anything I'll be doing something wrong too.

"I'm dying Gen, but look, I do not want you thinking that you have to stay, please, be happy for the both of us. Be a better mother, I should have been better. So, go out there and live your life for me also. Okay?"

She gives me a hug, "I will I promise." She walks away and part of me is so disappointed with our goodbye. She is too eager to leave me, I hate that.

I don't want to die. I am not ready yet, I want to try again.

"Give me my 1001." I say to Kaiya wherever she is.

I fall asleep and experience 1000 versions of my life, I never chose Kaiya. I never chose Kai. I always leave for someone else. 80% of the time it's Toya.

"Why Rei though, why the outcome where Toya is in the picture?"

"Because they fell in love 1000 times." Teen Kaiya stands in front of me, "Out of a 1000 alternate realities every last one ends in death and tragedy for me because of you. I died 1000 times, this was the only one where I could come back to life.

"I didn't choose who to mark, I just wanted a perfect life, and even my perfect life is still in hell. You've been overthinking everything all this time. I never did anything special. I didn't manipulate people, I didn't hurt people. I didn't put my own selfish desires above those of others.

"I am nothing like you. I will never be anything like you. So, good bye. I hope these answers bring you some comfort. For the record, I am so grateful I will never know you as my mother. What utter trash and a disappointment you turned out to be."

"Why Rei?" I just want to know, out of every woman on earth, why her?

"Because she was there twice. All the other options were better, Rei pales in comparison to the perfect life I could have had with them, but Rei could love me twice. If ever given an option to do this for me again, she'd say yes in a heart beat. That's how I chose her."

"You don't get to choose your parents, all my life that's what I was told, and it was true. As a mother I was supposed to be irreplaceable."

"It's a good thing you were wrong." She turns around and I feel my blood boiling.

I wake up and everything hurts. My entire body hurts. It's like I'm shattering, exactly the same way Eri shattered.

I don't want to die. I don't want to go out like this.

Somebody please, Save me.

I can change I can be better. I know now what I should do. I know I was wrong, I know how to make things right.

"They fell in love a 1000 times." Those words echo in mind over and over again.

That means I fell in love with Kai a thousand times, what about that 1001.

Please!!!!!!!!

I'm Sorry!!!!!!!!!

"Kaiya I'm begging you. Just check for that 1001. Not for me but your father. He at least deserves better then being the third leg in a relationship between Rei and Toya. Please I'm begging you. Give me one last chance."

"Just one more." She stands in front of me and nods. I sigh in relief. Good.