"Mommy, give me head pats!"
Mercury looked up from his children's book. Across the room, a little girl was demanding affection from her mother with all the persistence of a broken record. His eyebrow twitched as he watched her. Concentrating on reading was impossible.
"Here we go again..." the boy muttered.
However, it didn't seem that Lina cared much about the girl's spoiled nature. She simply laughed, petting her daughter's hair as if she were stroking a kitten.
"Is that better, Celine? You really love it when Mommy spoils you, huh?" she asked, rhetorically. "Here you go then — some head pats for my princess!"
Somehow, Lina's voice always seemed to be so gentle — glowing even. Mercury could never figure out where she got such a kind heart from. If he were in the woman's shoes, he would most definitely be scolding the young girl for her spoiled behavior.
But that was also probably why Lina was the parent and he wasn't. There was a good chance that Mercury may end up in a jail cell with all the "ideas" he had for parenting children.
"Thanks, mommy!" Celine exclaimed.
Mercury exhaled sharply through his mouth. Watching those two was like watching sunlight bounce off glass. It was so blinding and somehow also irritating all at the same time... For an introverted, non social butterfly like him this positively some kind of poison made to end his sanity.
Soon after, Mercury yawned and closed his book. He stood up, stretching his arms as he spoke aloud to himself. "Four years for this stupidity to hit critical mass." The boy then walked over to the kitchen and started to look around. "Mom, when will Mr. Daichi and Mrs. Mikayo be back? I'm kinda hungry."
He could probably just cook something himself... but four-year-olds weren't really supposed to handle knives. Besides, this was a good way to break up his sister's pampering session.
Lina tilted her head in thought. "Hmm... not sure. I can call them if you want?"
Mercury shook his head. "Nah. I'm fine."
He turned back toward his reading spot. "I'll just watch the news or something."
The two girls watched Mercury wander around as he tried to find ways to once again pass the time. Celine frowned in confusion. "That kid is so weird." She looked back up at her mother. "Am I wrong?"
"Now, Now..." Lina scolded gently, patting her again. "Let's not be too harsh, Celine. Mercury's just a bit different from you is all..."
"Whatever you say."
Mercury flipped on the TV and let their voices fade into background noise. It really didn't matter what either of his family members thought about him. Heck, he'd probably think an out of touch brat like himself would seem pretty weird if he was them.
He was supposed to be an adult after all.
He let a short laugh escape his lips. "They don't have thirty years of office work under their belt." Somehow he felt like that detail was not to feel so great. The boy scratched his cheek and yawned again as the newscaster spoke.
"...A fire broke out in District Seven earlier today, marking the third in recent weeks..."
Just the "normal" routine. Lina was busy with her acting, Daichi was off chasing deadlines, Mikayo went to run some errands, and Celine playing make-believe as she strived to be just like her mom.
And Mercury, the overqualified four-year-old, trying to stay sane.
"I really don't fit in this place." he remarked. Mercury looked back over his shoulder at his family. "Lina probably has another gig soon... which means Mikayo's babysitting again."
"Such lucky kids..."
The next few hours passed without much incident. Mercury watched some news and other shows that interested him. Lina was off in the back of the house practicing some of her skits while Celine watched.
Eventually though, the door to the house opened. Mercury looked as Daichi and Mikayo walked back into the house. They seemed to finally be finished with their work and ready to attend to the talent that they had hired for StarsOfTommrow, the agency that Daichi owned and that Lina worked for.
"Lina, we're heading to set soon." he said, voice flat. "I told you to get ready earlier."
From the back, Lina walked out with Celine. She looked at her manager and frowned. "Aww! You're no fun, Daichi!" She looked at Celine. "Pretty rude man, eh?"
Celine nodded her head.Watching the two of them, Daichi's eye twitched. "Ready. Now." He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her toward her room. "You will do your job if it's the last thing I do!"
Mercury blinked, surprised by the manager's forceful response. "...If someone saw that out of context, that's a lawsuit waiting to happen." He shrugged.
Celine pouted, watching as Lina was rushed out the door towards her job. "But Mommy wasn't done cuddling me!"
"She has work." Mercury replied, still watching the television.
"ME WANTS MOMMY! I WANNA SNUGGLE WITH HER MORE! WAAAAAA!"
Mercury's soul left his body while listening. "How are children this unbearable?!" Or maybe it was just the brat he had been forced to share a womb with.
And an hour later, Lina and Daichi were gone.
The brown haired beauty whom Daichi had married. She was quite the skilled worker and great at her job, even though she clearly didn't enjoy it.
Miyako.
The wife of one Daichi was surely quite the character. In all of Mercury's time with her, he had found Mikayo to be the most problematic of the group. She seemed to hate her life as both the babysitter of Lina's kids as well as even being Daichi's wife.
Yet somehow, she still remained changing diapers and dealing with the brats. Mercury wouldn't be surprised if the work one day made her burst from stress. He could never figure out what exactly it was that made her like this, but he did know that she seemed to be constantly emotionless and tired.
Mercury grabbed a juice cup from the fridge's lowest shelf. "I wonder how long she's been like that." He narrowed his eyes. "One bad day from quitting life all together..."
It kind of reminded the boy of his time as an office worker. There were always people who were more qualified, such as himself, who were put through hell while the less competent got praises and raises. It could drain one of their very will to life.
The boy glanced at his empty bookshelf. "Already finished every book in this house. Great..."
"Maybe being the child of an actress isn't so grand." he said, aloud.
"Don't say that!"
And of course he would have to speak his thought aloud when she was coming around. It always seemed like the boy had to be in the wrong position at the wrong time, huh... Just pure bad luck at its finest.
He turned around and looked deep into the eyes of his younger sister. She had fire in her irises and fists clenched like she was planning to start a fight.
"Oh, right. Forgot you existed."
"Don't you dare complain! We're blessed by the heavens to live this way!"
He smirked, amused by the way Celine was acting. "Ah, yes. Praise be to fame and fortune. I'll light some incense later." He laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "You take all of this stuff to seriously, jerk."
"Y-you jerk!" She puffed her cheeks, grabbed his shirt, and shouted into his ear. "Since we're siblings, your problems are my problems!"
"That's not how logic works."
"Yes it is!"
Mercury sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. How in the hell could this kid always find a way to act like this?! Didn't it get tiring to be so concerned about matters of what people thought did 24/7?
Whatever the case, it was getting on Mercury's nerves. She really needed to learn to calm down and relax! It wasn't like he was necessarily trying to take a shot at his mom or anything... He was simply stating something for what it was. There was no point in making something so grand when it simply... wasn't.
And besides...
"You don't need divine inspiration, Celine. You need school." he remarked, jeering back at Celine's clearly otherworldly view of Lina.
She turned bright red. "S-shut up!" Then ran off, slamming her door.
He blinked. "Well... she's definitely her mother's child."
The room fell silent again, just as it had been before whatever that was. Mercury walked over to the living room and grabbed the remote to watch some more TV. He really did not want to be dealing with his sister's annoying personality at a time like this. It was supposed to be a good afternoon of peace for the male!
However, before he could even press the button to turn on the television, something stopped him. Just behind the male, Mercury heard the sound of rustling.
"...Don't tell me she woke up." his mind spun.
Sure enough, only a few moments later, Miyako was up from her nap. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Ugh, can't sleep again. If this keeps up, I'll die before I hit thirty." She seemed to once again be in a bad mood.
"Here comes rant number seven of the week."
"IF ONLY THOSE LITTLE BRATS WOULD JUST DIE!"
He froze. "...Never mind. That escalated."
Mikayo paced the room, muttering. "I can't keep doing this. Babysitting that woman's kids? No way!" She looked around, trying to find something. "Maybe if I leak some photos to the press... those vultures would pay a fortune for a peek at her 'secret family.'"
Mercury's blood ran cold.
Looking at the female, he could feel something of fear flowing through his bones. This was DEFINITELY not what he needed to hear at a time like this! Was she actually being for real?!
Quickly, the boy rushed behind the couch to get out of her sight. It would be bad if she found that that Mercury had been listening to her! What was he supposed to do now?! Guess the idea of a nice afternoon had just flown completely out the window... If she actually did send those photos of Mercury and Celine, Lina's career would be finsihed!
He bit his thumb, thinking desperately of a plan. "I have to stop her. Somehow." But what was a small child like him supposed to do?!
What was he supposed to be doing?!
This was so bad! This was NOT what he needed!
What he needed was some plan!
And then, an idea popped into his brain. He stopped thinking for a moment, only looking forward. The idea was surely a dumb one, especially for someone like him... Common reason told him that it would never work.
However, just maybe he could pull it off. It would definitely be much tougher than he'd like to admit, but this was probably the best and only idea he could come up with in such a desperate predicament.
"But I'll need someone to help me."
A few minutes later, Mikayo was humming to herself, gathering photos. "Soon it'll be bye-bye babysitting, hello luxury!" Her giddy attitude resonated throughout the whole house.
Her fantasy life was flashing behind her eyes. Finally she would have all the money, freedom, and happiness she ever wanted! Finally she would be able to get away from the crap-filled life that had haunted her since marrying that damned man!
And then she heard it.
Footsteps.
She turned. "Oh, right... the brats."
Miyako had been so wrapped up in the ideas of her new life that she had forgotten the children who were still under her "care" until Daichi and Lina got back. What in the world could those kids be wanting from her when she was so close to having all of this luxury?! It was pretty annoying from where she was standing.
However, what she saw was nothing like she could have ever imagined. It was so surprising that, for just a moment, her blood froze.
"W-What the..."
Two small figures lay just before her. Mercury sat on the couch, looking at the woman with a mischievous grin spread across his face. Beside him, Celine looked at Miyako with a rage so theatrical that you could have almost mistaken her for a professional actor at only four years old.
"I hate people like you." she said coldly.
Mikayo blinked, stepping back fearfully. "W-what are you? You kids don't know what you're talking about!" What in the hell was going on here?!
Mercury's voice was low, much calmer than his sister's. "You know exactly what we're talking about, Mikayo." He stood up, tiny and yet somehow menacing. "As angels, we can't allow your corruption to continue."
"...Angels?" Mikayo echoed.
"I serve under divine orders." Mercury declared, eyes glinting. "Lina Nisho's life holds great destiny. We are her guardians."
"And her children inherit that same destiny." Celine added, dead serious. "To defy it... is to defy God."
Mikayo face went completely pale as she listened to them. These were supposed to be normal kids, right?! Just what kind of divine intervention as she walked into?! This was definitely NOT supposed to be what was happening to her!
She stammered, "Y-you're both insane..."
Celine stepped forward. "Repent."
That did it. Mikayo's knees trembled. "O-okay, okay! What do you want from me?!"
Mercury smiled faintly. "A promise. Keep your mouth shut, and you might find... a second chance at love. A handsome one. Maybe even rich!" He held his tiny hand out to the woman. "A chance for you to redeem yourself, woman."
Mikayo's eyes sparkled like a jackpot had just appeared before her. "Really?! Yes! Of course! My lips are sealed!"
That really did not take any effort at all.
She threw the photos under the couch and started cleaning the room at hyper speed, giggling like a schoolgirl before running off towards who knows where.
Mercury exhaled. "Crisis averted."
Celine puffed out her chest proudly. "All in a day's work for Mommy's favorite child!"
Mercury watched her pose, half amused. "Guess she really is her mother's daughter."
He leaned back and glanced at the ceiling. "For now, things are calm. We'll get to live a little longer... maybe even laugh a bit."
"Maybe Miyako was right... Life seems to be looking up."