The labour lasted roughly ten hours.
Throughout it, Yuzuru held Arisa’s hand, speaking to her the entire time.
Whether it helped or not, he couldn’t say—
but both mother and child were healthy.
“Go on, you should hold him first.”
“Eh? Is that alright?”
Yuzuru blinked in surprise at Arisa’s words.
Surely, the mother—who had worked the hardest—should be the first to hold the baby.
That was what he had always thought.
“I’ve been with him this whole time.”
“I-I suppose…”
Was that really how it worked?
Yuzuru tilted his head in confusion.
Arisa smiled softly at him.
“Instead, please take it as a chance to feel like a father.”
“I don’t need to be told that.”
Though gently admonished, Yuzuru nodded repeatedly.
He wiped his damp palms against his clothes,
took a few deep breaths,
and finally accepted the baby from the nurse.
“…Mm…”
His newborn child was warm—
and a little heavier than expected.
Tiny fingers opened and closed in slow, clumsy motions.
“…Arisa.”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
At his sudden words of gratitude, Arisa looked surprised.
“That’s a bit out of nowhere… honestly.”
And then—
“You’re welcome.”
She smiled.
Their first son was named Manaya (愛弥).
The “愛” (mana) came from Arisa,
and “弥” (ya) from the Takasegawa family tradition of using “弓.”
The naming process wasn’t dramatic,
but it wasn’t without its complications.
“A boy with ‘愛’ in his name… are you sure about that?”
Yuzuru’s mother, Ayu, had raised the concern.
It followed the rules.
The reading wasn’t strange, the sound was elegant,
and it suited the Takasegawa family.
The meaning—to love and be loved, to grow well—was perfect.
A perfect name—
or so Yuzuru and Arisa had thought, caught up in excitement.
But her comment made them pause.
Now that they thought about it,
they had never met a man with “愛” in his name.
Would it stand out too much?
Would he get teased?
Those worries crept in.
Meanwhile, Yuzuru’s father, Kazuya, was delighted.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s a great name!” he said cheerfully.
The reason was obvious—
he shared the “弥.”
Though in truth, Yuzuru and Arisa hadn’t intended that at all—
it had just been a casual, “Oh, that matches—let’s go with it.”
But some things were better left unsaid.
Yuzuru’s grandparents, Sougen and Chiwako, simply said,
“It’s your child—choose what you like.”
—or more accurately,
“We don’t quite understand modern naming sense…”
They had their thoughts, but knew better than to push them.
If they insisted on their own preferences,
it would only feel outdated.
So they left it to the younger generation.
One in favour, two neutral, one opposed.
As Yuzuru and Arisa wavered,
it was Yuzuru’s younger sister, Ayumi, who gave the final push.
“There was a boy in my class with ‘愛’ in his name.”
Rare—but not unheard of.
That was enough.
With renewed confidence,
they named their son Manaya.
About two months after Manaya was born—
“Waaahhh!!”
He was crying loudly again today.
“Alright, alright… Manaya, is it a dirty nappy? Wet? …No? Hungry? But you just ate…”
Yuzuru picked him up and tried to soothe him,
but the crying didn’t stop.
After a while, the sliding door opened,
and Arisa—dressed in a kimono—entered the room.
“Dirty nappy? Wet?”
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
“Then it’s probably milk.”
“But he just ate…”
Still puzzled, Yuzuru handed Manaya over.
Arisa gently held him close, pressing him against her chest.
“…Ah… u…”
Almost instantly,
the crying stopped.
As if the earlier fuss had never happened.
“Looks like Manaya takes after someone—he really loves breasts.”
“That’s ridiculous…”
Surely just coincidence.
Thinking so, Yuzuru took Manaya back into his arms.
The baby blinked his eyes—
the same emerald green as Arisa’s.
And then—
“Waaahhh!!”
As if protesting—
This isn’t it!
“…!”
Feeling oddly dejected,
Yuzuru handed him back.
Wrapped in Arisa’s warmth,
Manaya once again looked content.
“I’m worried about his future.”
“Hehe, indeed. I’d rather he doesn’t grow up to demand a fiancée with a large chest.”
Arisa gently stroked Manaya’s head.
His hair, just beginning to grow in, was black—like Yuzuru’s.
“…Arisa. Please don’t tell him things like that when he’s older.”
“That depends on your behaviour, Yuzuru-san.”
