It was a breezy afternoon, one day before the first night of the festival. The house was as lively as ever at that hour, more so now thanks to the twins.
It was thanks to this sense of normalcy that no one expected a sudden visit. The knock on the door came loud, like whoever it was was trying to break the door down.
All six of them, including the twins, one of whom was with Kanami and the other with Ayako, were sitting in the open room of the house by the kitchen.
The sound upset the children, and they started crying. To calm them down, Ayako passed the baby to Miyuki and went to check who it was at the door.
She immediately regretted her decision when she saw who it was behind the door.
"What are you two doing here?" she asked the elderly couple standing before her in a harsh tone.
"Is that any way for you to talk to us, Ayako?" the old lady asked in a soft voice. "Is family not welcome?"
Ayako just clicked her tongue and turned away, walking back inside without another word. The two of them followed her in.
When Kanami saw the frown on Ayako's face as she walked in, she was confused. That confusion only lasted half a second until the two of them came into view from behind her.
"Mr. and Mrs. Abeno—how can we help you?" she asked, forcing a smile.
"Come, you can just call us mother and father," the old man insisted.
"It's a bit late for that," Ayako whispered, loud enough for them to hear.
Miyuki, Izumi, and Lloyd just sat there, feeling out of place and suffocated by the tension.
"Again, I ask, how can I help you?" Kanami said again, her tone sharper than usual.
"We've come to see our grandchildren, of course," the old lady replied.
"Why the sudden interest?" Kanami asked. "It's not like you weren't aware."
"Stop being so difficult, Kanami," Mr. Abeno said. "We came to visit our daughter-in-law and our grandchildren, and you treat us so harshly."
"The place is definitely much more populated compared to the last time we were here," the lady said. "So many mouths to feed already, and now you've added two twins to the mix."
"What business is that of yours?" Kanami asked. "Last time I checked, it wasn't you feeding those mouths."
"We can't help but be concerned, is all," he said. "This is hardly a good environment for the children."
As he said that, he turned to Miyuki and reached his hands out, signaling her to pass the baby to him. Before she could even turn to confirm with Kanami, she already had her hand out to block her from doing it.
"What are you getting at?" she asked while glaring at him.
"This place will only lead to disease and malnutrition for them," Mrs. Abeno answered. "We were suggesting that the children come live with us. I am more than capable of raising them."
"I knew you bastards were up to no good, but to come here and try and take the babies away after you abandoned her isn't something I expected," Ayako said. "It makes me wonder why."
"Oh, I know why," Kanami answered. "In fact, I'm sure you were waiting for the news all this time."
"What are you talking about?" Mr. Abeno asked. "We've only come here to ensure the well-being of our grandchildren."
"The well-being of your grandchildren or your own?" she asked.
"What are these accusations you're tossing around?" the lady asked.
The exchange left Izumi, Lloyd, and Miyuki more incapacitated than they would've expected. They felt trapped between a rock and a hard place, and it was too late to leave the room.
"What do you take me for?" she asked. "Do you really think that I won't expose your plot to everyone here right now?"
"What plot?" Mr. Abeno said. "It's clear that you're suffering from some kind of delusion. Another clear sign that the children are not in safe hands."
"Oh, so you thought that I was bluffing?" she asked, her tone sharper and more spiteful than ever before.
"What's going on, Kanami?" Ayako asked, just as confused as the quiet trio in the corner.
"This wasn't how I was planning on telling you guys, but I guess I have no choice," she said, calming down.
"A week ago, I got sent a message from the Council in regards to Ashiro's debts," she continued as she slowly lulled the baby to sleep. "I was expecting an immediate order to pay them off, but instead I found out that they were completely cleared."
"But how?" Ayako said. "Those debts would've taken at least ten years to pay off on our income."
"That's the thing. It seems that before Ashiro died, he made a huge bet with all of our assets tied to it, which included everything from the workshop to the house to even our clothes," she replied. "I don't know the specific nature of the bet, but the results came back last month, and he won a large sum of money."
"The Council took hold of it and used some of the money to pay off our debts before sending me the notice to come and collect the rest," she said. "Since I'm his widow, I was entitled to half of the money. The other half was to go to his children if he had any, which now he does."
"How much money are we talking?" Ayako asked.
"Enough to get us out of this lifestyle for good," she answered.
"Congratulations," Lloyd said, breaking their silence.
"I'm so happy for you," Miyuki added.
"But wait, what does this have to do with them?" Izumi asked.
"That's right," he added.
"The reason they're here is that there is a clause in the agreement that says that if I, as the mother of the children, lose custody of them to another relative, then both my half of my portion and all of theirs falls into the trust of that relative," Kanami replied.
"So in short, they're here to squeeze me and my children for every cent we have and throw us in the gutter when they become inconvenient, just like they did with me and Ayako."
Everyone in the room turned to the two of them almost simultaneously, with piercing glares in their eyes.
"Don't throw that on us," the lady argued. "We only came here because we were afraid that you would kill the children to get their half of the money."
"It's definitely in your power, seeing how you killed our son too."
The outburst woke the babies up, and they started crying. Kanami and Miyuki tried calming them down, but their whimpers wouldn't stop.
"Get out," Ayako shot, furious. "And never step foot near us again, you good-for-nothing pieces of shit."
"Oh, we're serious," the old man said in a firm tone. "We're taking our concerns to the Council, and it's going to be just a matter of time before you lose custody of them."
"We'll see about that," Kanami said as she burped the baby.
The two of them turned to leave, but she called them back, saying, "Let me introduce you, since it will be the last time you ever see them."
She held the baby in her arms on her lap and passed her hand gently over the baby in Miyuki's arms as she said, "These two angels are my Haruno and Airi."
"Haruno and Airi Shio."
Their unbothered glances suddenly turned to glares, and Miyuki and Izumi exchanged knowing glances.
Lloyd tapped Izumi on the shoulder and whispered, "What's going on? I thought the children were supposed to take their father's name."
"Mothers in the east have the option to give their children their last name, but doing so is rejecting their relation to their paternal family," Izumi whispered back.
"Wait, if she rejects their connection to their father, then doesn't that mean that they lose their right to the money?" Lloyd asked.
"Since Kanami was his lawful wife when he was alive, that would mean that she is going to inherit all the money herself," he whispered.
All Lloyd could do was stare at her in awe, impressed by her move.
"You're free to leave now, Mr. and Mrs. Abeno," Kanami said with a smirk. "Don't hit yourselves on the way out."
"You won't get away with this, you brat," she shot. "We're coming for what is ours!"
"Good luck with that," Ayako said as she pushed them away. "I'd suggest that you don't waste the little time you have before you croak."
They didn't say anything more and just walked out, slamming the outer door shut behind them.
It was only when they did that the soft whimpers finally ceased.