©Fujiwara Hiro

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CHAPTER 1: DREAMS & ICE CREAMS

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I heard a faint baby cry somewhere. I looked around to see where was it coming from but all I could see was rich green fields full of blossoming flowers. Spring time? I wondered. But I didn't pay attention to the beauty around me; I wanted to see whose baby was crying. The sound got louder as I walked.

'Where are you?' I whispered, as if answering, the crying got louder & louder, more agonizing. I was already running. Crease of worry dominated my forehead & my flowing white dress dance with the wind as I ran through the vast greenery.

I continued ran around to no avail, I couldn't find the baby. But I could still his begging cries. I'm not the type of person who is easily affected by emotions but I got so frustrated that I began to sob. I wanted to go & comfort him, assure him in my arms to stop his crying, but I couldn't.

Tears rolled down my cheeks while looking around desperately. I fell on the soft grass as my knees gave away from running so much.

'Misaki-san...'

I buried my face in my arms as I cry. Then I felt a gentle shaking on my shoulder.

'Misaki-san!'

The shaking became harder & more forceful.

I snapped my eyes open, startled. Tears streamed down my cheeks. I looked around & saw my secretary's worried face.

'Kiyone?' I asked, confused. I was sure I heard a baby's crying somewhere.

'Are you alright, Misaki-san?' she looked at me with concerned eyes.

'Uhh, y-yes,' I stammered. I hadn't realized that I fell asleep on my desk in the middle of work.

'I heard you cry ing, so I checked on you,' she explained. 'Did you just have a nightmare?'

'Oh, yeah... But I'm fine, thanks Kiyone.' I forced a weak smile to her.

She smiled sweetly at me too, 'I think you can call it a day, Misaki-san. It's almost 9pm, go home & continue your sleep there.'

I felt like being scolded by Usui but in a more formal way. I chuckled.

'Yeah, okay. I will.' I stood up from the swiveling chair & grabbed my bag. 'What about you? You should go home too,' I told her.

'I'll just fix my desk & I'll be on my way, goodnight, take care, Misaki-san!' she answered.

'Alright, goodnight Kiyone & thanks for the hard work.'

I opened the door to our apartment, turned the lights on & sat on the couch.

I sighed.

It has been 3 years since Usui & I got married. We lived in his high-rise condominium but we also bought a medium-sized house in a well-known subdivision in town.

I insisted on working so he allowed me to help him run the company he inherited from the Walker family, but I must promise him that I must not overwork myself.

Usui wasn't around these past days; he had some business trip in Hokkaido so I'm all alone in our unit. But I'm pretty sure he'll come home tonight or tomorrow.

I lazily heaved myself from the couch & took a bath. I changed from my office attire to my gray sweatpants & t-shirt.

I went back to the couch, thinking about the dream I had.

I wonder why I kept dreaming about the same dream for days now...

I hadn't realized how tired I was until I was slouching with drooping eyelids; I fell asleep.

A tickling sensation on my neck woke me. I wiped my hand across it; it was wet. I sat up & felt my back & my chest were also wet with sticky sweat.

I huffed, it was already late autumn but it felt so hot!

I turned the aircon to its maximum capacity before going to the kitchen to replenish my lost water. I also changed my wet t-shirt to my white spaghetti. After that, I laid on the couch again. As soon as I felt the cold breeze from the aircon, I fell asleep again.

A slight pressure on my cheeks woke me up this time. Usui was sitting next to me, caressing my cheek.

The living room was brightly illuminated by the sun through the glass window on the opposite side of the room.

I focused my bleary eyes to Usui's face.

'Hey, prez. I'm back.' he greeted me while still caressing my face. He still called me 'prez' even though that was already 9 years ago.

I just smiled at him.

'Are you trying to freeze yourself to death?' he asked.

'Hmm?' I asked confusedly. I sat up & felt my back drenched with sweat despite the cold room. Why am I sweating so hard?

'The room is freezing. Did you forget to turn on the timer?' he asked.

'No, no... I left it that way purposely.' I answered.

'So you're really trying to kill yourself.'

'No, I wasn't,' I protested. 'I feel so hot & I'm sweating a lot, look,' I briefly turned my back on him for the evidence. 'I was so drenched in sweat last night that it's my 2nd clothing, you know,' I pouted as I referred to my spaghetti.

He touched my back & frowned.

'Well, better get change again or you'll catch colds,' he ordered.

Usui was cuddling me on the couch as he tell me what happened on his business trip.

I attentively listen & commented from time to time.

'So, what about you? What did you do while I'm gone?' he squeezed me to get my attention.

'Huh? I...did my work in the office. But yesterday, I fell asleep on my desk & I ended up being scolded by Kiyone,' he laughed.

'I told you to not overdo yourself.' he said sternly.

'But I wasn't doing anything tiring; I just sat there half of the day doing some paperworks. I hadn't realized I fell asleep until Kiyone shook me hard. She said she heard me crying so she went to see me,' I explained.

'Crying? Why were you crying?' he asked me curiously.

'Oh, it was nothing. I think I dreamed of something.' I bit my lower lip. I shouldn't have mention the crying part.

'What something was that?' he prompted.

'I forgot about it,' I lied.

I knew that he knew that I was lying. But he didn't push me.

'What are you poking in there?'

I bumped my head on the fridge.

'Ow!' I looked behind me & glared at Usui. 'Could you please stop doing that?'

'Doing what?' he looked at me innocently.

'Appearing out of the blue.' I went back in raiding the fridge. Finally, I found what I was looking for, the remaining gallon of pure vanilla ice cream. I pulled it out & brought it on the table.

Hmmm.. Vanilla, yummy!

I quickly sat on a chair, Indian style & scooped the ice cream straight from the container.

Usui watched me in amusement.

'Want some?' I offered.

'Just by looking at you, I could say that it's still not enough for you.' he chuckled while approaching me.

He kissed away the vanilla smudge on my mouth. I blushed. Even though it has been 6 years since we had a girlfriend-boyfriend relationship & 3 years since we live together as husband-&-wife, he never failed to make me blush & make my heart race.

'Take it easy, you might suffer from stomach ache afterwards.' he warned. 'I'm going rest for a while, okay, Misa-chan? Wake me if you need something.' he yawned & ruffled my hair.

I nodded then he left me devouring the ice cream.

After sometime, I stared at the empty container in front of me. Whoah... I thought, I really ate it all. What's up with that?

The next morning, it was a fine Sunday. I lay still on the bed; Usui must be preparing the breakfast because he was no longer beside me.

'You're awake, Misa-chan?' Usui inquired as he poked his head in the room, grinning at me.

'Uh, goodmorning,' I said, forcing a weak smile on my face. I slowly sat on the edge of the bed. I got a funny feeling building up inside my stomach. I grimaced as I squeezed my stomach to pull myself to sitting position.

'Hey, what's wrong?' Usui asked when he saw my expression.

'Nothing, I'm-' a sudden wave of nausea blocked what I was about to say. I clamped my mouth with my right hand while I clutched my other hand to my stomach. I made a mad dash to the bathroom.

'Misaki?'

I was still able to kicked the door closed & locked it before I hovered over the toilet bowl. I violently vomitted all the ice cream & dinner I have eaten the previous day. I coughed up, my heart pounding & my eyes were tearing.

'Misaki, open the door.' Usui knocked loudly on the door.

The vomitting last for a few moments. After that, I felt a lot better, though with pounding heart & faint ringing in my ears.

Usui continued to bang the door. 'Open up, Misaki!' he ordered. 'What's happening to you?' he asked frustratedly.

I sat on the floor, trying to catch my breath. Was it because of the ice cream? No, I got a strange feeling about this. I stood up to look at the calendar. My eyes widen, the date took me by surprise. It has been over 2 months... I was too busy to notice; my heart doubled its pounding.

'Misaki, if you're not out in 5 seconds, I'm going to break in!' Usui threatened.

'5,' he started counting.

'H-hey, wait! I'm going out, okay? Don't go breaking anything!' I yelled at the door.

I quickly wash my face with cool water on the sink & hastily brushed my teeth.

I inhaled while slowly opening the door.

Usui stood there, looking worried sick.

'How are you feeling? Did you just throw up?' he asked, his voice full of concern. He reached for me & rubbed my back.

'Uh, yeah. I-I threw up all the damn ice cream I ate yesterday.' I said. My voice shook & my hands were trembling too.

My heart jumped as Usui rubbed my stomach, 'Are you feeling alright now? Want to go to a doctor?'

'No!' I didn't mean to raise my voice. I pulled away from him. 'I mean, I'm fine, it was just the stupid ice cream, no need to worry about.' I forced my mouth to smile.

'I told you to take it easy,' he muttered. 'Well, come on, let's fill up your empty tummy,' he led me to the dining room.

Oh crap! Crap, crap! I didn't know what else to think.

'So, that's pretty much all for today, Misaki-san,' the doctor told me.

I just nodded, still in shock.

'The dizziness, the nausea & vomitting, the appetite, you'll have to deal with it until your 3rd month.'

'Uhm, yes, thank you so much, Reika-sensei,' I stood up to leave.

'Come back if you're feeling something out of ordinary, take care!' she added.

I left the hospital & took a walk around the streets of Tokyo, not knowing what else to think. I ended up in a public square filled with assorted stalls of sumptious foods, my stomach growl.

I bought a crepe & sat alone in a table under a big colorful umbrella.

I ate it slowly, trying to clear my mind. So much happened today that my thoughts were all jumbled together.

I was right, damn right! The doctor confirmed the greatest shock of my life. We even tested it for 3 times & we got same answer.

How the hell am I supposed to tell him about my situation?

My mind ran through different 'What if's' & various arguments with Usui. I hadn't realized that it was already dark when I wake myself from my reverie.

Oh, shit! I hurriedly made my way to the subway in a fast pace.

It was already rush hour; so many people crowded the subway.

Damn it! I clenched my head. I started to get dizzy so I decided to take a taxi than to squish myself there.

I barely managed to push the button of the right floor when I arrived in our apartment. I felt so tired & my dizziness got worse. I slowly walked to our unit, hoping that Usui wasn't at home yet.

Luck wasn't kind to me today, I should have known. I didn't notice that the lights were on because of my spinning head until Usui spoke.

'Where did my little maid go today?' his voice so dangerously sweet. He was sitting on the couch but when he heard me enter, he must've turned around & smiled at me.

I was so surprised, my heart jumped. Damn it! I had enough surprises for today! I wanted to scream.

I looked at Usui & suddenly, I couldn't focus on his face. I realized I was at the danger of collapsing. I grasped the cabinet beside the door. Oh, no! No! Oh, please, not now! I silently begged my consciousness. I panted & held my head with one hand. I could feel my face tight in an agonized grimace.

'Misaki?' Usui's alarmed voice was already beside me.

'Us..ui..' I managed weakly, still struggling to focus.

'I'm here,' he assured. He supported me by my waist & guided me to the couch. I sat there helplessly.

'I'll go get some water,' Usui left for the kitchen.

Oh, God, help me please!

'Here, drink this,' Usui handed me a glass of water when he got back. He touched my forehead & frowned.

'Where have you been, Hon?' he asked worriedly as he sat beside me & gently rubbed my head. It helped soothe my dizziness.

I closed my eyes, concentrating hard on slowing my pounding heart & stabilizing my spinning head. I breath in & out slowly.

After a few minutes, Usui's anxious face was the first thing I saw when I finally opened my eyes.

'I'm sorry, I-I'm just tired, I went to Tokyo & I got myself stuck in the middle of rush hour.'

'Oh, why did you go there?' he tilted his head as he asked me curiously.

I clutched my head again, this time not because of dizziness, but for not keeping my big mouth shut. 'I...' I struggled to think, 'I just wanted to take a walk around there, that's all.'

'Next time you want to go there, at least tell me so I could come with you,' he pulled me closer to him.

'Ehh?' I nervously laughed, 'I-I'm not going there for some time.' my next checkup was still within 3 months' time. 'Besides, you have a lot of work in the office, right?'

He didn't answer. I pulled myself away from him to avoid any more questions.

'I'm fine now, thanks Usui!' I pecked him on his cheek & I carefully stood up, assessing myself.

'Misaki...' his voice dead serious.

I flinched. I winced before answering him.

'W-what is it?' My heart was trying to escape my ribs. I didn't turn to face him, afraid that he might see through my face.

'Nothing. Go to bed now, you should rest,' he went to the dining room, ruffling my hair on his way.

I sighed in relief. For now.

haroo, minna-san!

natsu_no_sora desu, yorushiku onegaishimasu!

so, this is the sequel to my first story 'The Alien & The Demon'. I hope you take time reading this & improve it by reviewing; I'll appreciate it very much, thank you!

I'll see you soon in the next chapter, ja!