For the next 20 minutes, Ai seemed as if she was in agony. Every contraction was intense, sapping her of her strength.
"The first baby is coming, keep it up." The midwife encouraged from the end of the bed.
Ai pushed hard and soon a cry entered their ears.
"It's a boy!" the midwife announced with glee.
Ken's eyes snapped towards the woman, seeing a pink baby within her arms. He tried to focus in on the features, wanting to take a good look at his boy for the first time.
But when he tried to focus, things became blurry. Ken frowned deeply, his heart beating wildly in his chest. Why couldn't he see his child's face?
Even as the midwife handed Kenji to Ai, Ken couldn't make out anything.
His heart sunk as ridiculous theories entered his mind.
But then, he felt hot tears cascading down his face. Once the dam broke, he could suddenly see again. It turned out that his tears had misted up his eyes.
"He's so beautiful." Ai said in wonder, cradling her newborn child.
"K—" Ken tried to speak, but a giant lump in his throat prevented any sounds. He looked at his child for the first time, its swollen face and dark hair prevalent.
"Kenji…" With a whisper, he called out his son's name, feeling the weight of his existence upon him. He was no longer just a man, Ken was now a father.
"He looks just like you," Ai said, her smile beaming.
"Mmm…"
Ken wanted nothing more than to hold his son right now, but he knew that now was not the time. The baby needed skin on skin contact with the mother right after birth to help develop a bond.
He would get his chance to hold his child, just not yet.
It was hard, but he sucked it up. He would have the rest of his life to cherish his children after all.
Not even a minute after Kenji was successfully born, Ai let out another grunt of pain.
"Okay good, the second baby is coming." The midwife announced.
Ai pushed once more, but this time seemed a lot easier than the first. The midwife stood up with another baby in her arms grinning, "It's a beautiful girl." She said brightly.
She walked forward and handed baby Natsuki to Ai who now had both of her newborns. Ken's eyes laid on his daughter and felt his heart ache.
"Natsuki… She looks just like you." Ken said, feeling that his throat was dry.
"Dad, sorry to interrupt but it's time for you to do your job." The midwife said.
Ken reluctantly tore away his gaze from his two newborn children and faced the woman with determination. "Whatever you need from me, I'll do it." He said.
The midwife laughed, "I like your enthusiasm. We're going to cut the umbilical cords, just hang tight while I get the stuff."
And like that, the midwife busies herself, getting the instrument ready to cut the cord.
"Did you want a photo of this moment?"
Ken looked at his wife who seemed mortified before shaking his head vigorously. He was sure that Ai did not want to be photograph with her post-delivery body on full display at this moment.
"No, it's fine. We'll get plenty of photos later."
Ken then cut the first umbilical cord. It was coarse and difficult to cut, even with the sharp scissors that he'd been provided. Thankfully everything went smoothly and he moved onto the second.
Once this was done, one of the doctors arrived and explained that some stitches were needed thanks to the birth. While he worked on that, the midwife asked an odd question.
"Did you guys want to take the placenta home?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Well, some cultures eat the placenta. They say its very nutritious."
Ken didn't even need to look at Ai before making his decision. "We'll pass thanks…"
Some more time passed while Ai was being worked on. Ken couldn't stop looking at both his newborn babies who were currently latched onto his wife's bosom, dutifully having their first meal in this world.
Everything seemed peaceful.
"Alright, you can go shower if you want Momma. We need to weigh these guys and then its time for Dad to get his skin on skin contact." The midwife directed.
At the mention of a shower, Ai's eyes widened in anticipation. If it wasn't for the two newborns on her, she might have jumped off the bed herself.
The woman took away Kenji first and weighed him before directing Ken to take his shirt off and sit on the chair. When he complied, she brought over Kenji, though her eyes were doing a little too much wandering for his liking.
But that was quickly forgotten as he felt the warm and soft skin of his son.
He placed Kenji against his chest and looked at his chubby face. "Kenji, my son…"
His mind moved a thousand miles an hour, trying to think of something to say. Nothing had felt more real than this moment in his life.
"I don't know how good of a parent I can be… Hell, sometimes I still feel like a kid myself." He whispered, his eyes never leaving the child. "But I promise to always love you, no matter what…"
As he said these words, his son nuzzled against his chest, as if looking for some food.
"Oops, don't let him get your nipple. Even if he doesn't have teeth, it will still hurt." The midwife said with a small chuckle. She walked forward and placed Natsuki in his free arm, leaving Ken with his two twins.
With his two kids in his arms, Ken felt a wave of happiness. He'd just won the World Series, but this was an even bigger high than that. He was now a father…
When he thought about winning the World Series, Ken's thoughts went to the system. He had 48 hours to accept the mission rewards before it disappeared.
'Mika… Use identify on Natsuki and Kenji.'