Summary: Third - and final - installment of my 'Love' series. Things come to an uncertain turn as Jenna and Haru grow distant, their relationship strained by his memories of Rin. And when Hatori recieves some disturbing news, he once again takes matters into his own hands. However, he can't ignore everything for long.
Warning: Nothing, so far.
Disclaimer: Don't own Furuba, duh. Own plot, OCs, and disclaimer...(hey! I can try!)
I'll put all notes at the bottom, so please read 'em! This is a little shorter than usual, and maybe abrupt, but it's the prologue.
Please review. Ideas, suggestions, comments, and helpful criticism welcome.
"I think I'm going to cut my hair, Haru," Jenna told him, rubbing her hair with a towel as she wandered into the kitchen where Haru was sitting at the table reading a letter. He glanced up in surprise and eyed her for a moment, noting her hair went past her waist now, before looking back at her.
"Why? I think you look pretty like that," he objected, and she sighed as she sat down as well.
"Maybe, but my hair doesn't stay perfectly straight when it's this long. And it gets in my way," she added, pulling it back in annoyance. "There's a reason I never had long hair like this."
"Hatori said Akito isn't doing well," he said, abruptly changing the subject.
"Again?" Jenna asked skeptically, resting her chin in her arms. She and Hatsuharu had lived together for almost three years and Hatori had begun to write them directly almost eighteen months ago. "He's never doing well," she shrugged. "And then he gets better, and it starts all over again."
"Well, this time Hatori is almost certain it's not going to start all over," the Ox said, laying the letter on the table in front of them. "I can feel it too – the curse. It's breaking, but the call is getting stronger." Jenna shivered at the thought of Haru going back to Japan – back to Akito – and looked at him with worry.
"When you say it like that – it scares me," she said quietly, and he rested his hand on her arm comfortingly.
"Don't worry," he assured her, but she noticed he made no promises about staying. The pair had grown distant as time passed and Jenna was aware that her own insecurities concerning Haru's relationship with Rin were the problem. She considered them justified, however. Haru often asked after Rin in letters to Hatori and Jenna's 'female intuition' told her that Haru liked her hair long because it reminded him of Rin. She knew Haru cared for her deeply – she had no delusions about that, just as sure as she knew she loved him – but was afraid that one day he would need to go back and Rin would be waiting for him.
"I'll go today after work and get a trim," she compromised, and Haru nodded, pleased with the suggestion.
"Hatori was asking about the certificate," he hinted, and she groaned.
"Haru…"
"I know – I'll let him know," he agreed, glancing at the paper ominously. Jenna had delayed a wedding of any kind since they had arrived in America, unsure of her reasons why, and Hatori asked about it every letter, revealing his curiosity concerning her motives. Haru had accepted the situation in his usual laid-back manner, but Jenna often wondered what his thoughts on the matter really were. She had to admit to herself that she was scared to ask.
"Have a good day, sir," Jenna called after the man leaving the office. She had kept her job at the local paper and often dealt with aspiring columnists and businessmen as a result. Most of the people were pleasant enough, while others took their attitudes out on her. She had almost lost her job a few weeks ago thanks to that – Haru had stopped by for lunch when a man was yelling at her about his rejected application. Naturally, Hatsuharu had gone Black and two policemen had to come and drag him off the poor man while Jenna tried to calm him down. Fortunately, her boss was a good-natured man and had only made Haru promise to never come back. Haru had sulked for a bit after that, but soon grew busy in his own job as a karate instructor at the youth center and forgot about it.
Getting her jacket on, Jenna winced as nausea hit her and muttered something under her breath as she headed down the hall outside. Feeling slightly ill and chalking it up to being hungry, she pulled her keys out as she reached her car and decided to pick up something to eat before heading home.
"I guess I'll pick Haru up something as well," she said thoughtfully, glancing at the clock. Pulling onto the street, she headed for the nearest take-out restaurant, hoping Haru wouldn't mind, but not really thinking he would. "And if he does, he can make something for himself anyway," she told herself, grinning.
"So you did get it cut," Haru commented later that evening. Jenna had been home for several hours before he got in and was grateful she had gotten over the nausea before that.
"At lunch," she nodded, having had it cut to her mid-back. "I told it was getting too long for me."
"Mm," he murmured briefly, before resuming eating. She frowned slightly for a moment before shrugging it off and returning to the book she was reading.
"How'd work go?" she asked after a moment, and he looked up with what seemed to be surprise. Which irritated Jenna a little, since she always asked about his day.
"Fine."
"Were any of the kids sick?" she prodded, doing her best to keep her sudden temper in check. Their relationship, while still easy, had grown more strained as well as distant, and as of late Haru talked even less than usual.
"Yeah – flu season's starting strong," he nodded, and she waited a moment before realizing he wasn't going to say anything else. Swallowing her disappointment – and a sudden desire to demand what was going on – she instead picked up the paperback once more.
"Are you sure you're all right?" Haru asked doubtfully, about a week later. Jenna sat up a little straighter, kneeling before the toilet. "Is it something you ate?"
"I don't know," she admitted, a feeling of dread creeping up on her. Several spirits had revealed themselves to her two das ago, serving as a warning that things were taking a turn for the worst. Another wave of nausea hit and she dropped her head in an attempt to ward it off.
"Maybe you should see a doctor," he suggested, but she shook her head sharply in protest.
"No," she replied curtly, her flat tone saying the matter wasn't open for discussion. She hadn't been to a doctor since leaving Hatori, somehow feeling guilty at the idea, as if it would be a betrayal.
"You know, if he finds out you haven't been to a doctor this whole time, he'll kill me," Haru pointed out, having been to one himself a year ago for a checkup. Jenna only looked at him pointedly, causing him to sigh. "Yeah, I know you're an adult, but I'll be held responsible if anything happens – you know that," he added, and she sighed as well.
"I know. It's probably just a virus going around – it's flu season," she pointed out, slowly getting to her feet as the ill feeling faded away. "Besides, I feel fine, so stop hovering and go to work. We're both late, but at least my boss knows I'm sick."
"All right – call if anything happens," he ordered, reluctantly sidling toward the door. Jenna waggled her fingers in agreement, since her mouth was currently full of toothpaste, and bent over to spit just as he left. Haru had been more solicitous than usual the past week, which was rather nice, but the same nagging feelings remained in her mind, letting her know something was wrong. That and the fact that spirits were beginning to grow more prominent.
"Everything was going so well," she sighed, running a brush through her hair. She had taken the next day off as well as today and wasn't sure what to do with her free time. Finishing her morning routine, she pulled her hair back and sat down at the table, unwilling to try and eat anything just eat. Looking around in boredom, her gaze settled on a letter she had begun to Hatori, but never finished. Getting up, she retrieved the paper and pen and sat back down. Pulling a new piece of paper out, she bent over the sheet and began to scribble, remembering the old saying about doctors' handwriting and knowing he'd be able to decipher the mess.
Several hours and many pages later, she found herself with a stiff hand and growling stomach and leaned back in the chair with surprise, not realizing she had so much to tell the Dragon. Moving to the fridge, she began to dig through it, hoping to find something to eat.
"Ah…" she grinned, retrieving an old tuna sandwich and deciding the best course of action was to eat it.
"What the hell's that?" Haru demanded, coming through the door just in time to see Jenna shove a wad of papers into a manila envelope. "Are you doing an article or something?" he asked, and she looked up with a guilty grin.
"Actually, it's a letter for Hatori and the others," she confessed, sealing it up. "I was bored, and I just got to writing one."
"Okay…" He shrugged, tugging off his coat. "Feel any better?" he checked, noticing the dishes in the sink.
"Yeah, I had a sandwich, soup, and tea," she said, counting them off on her fingers and displaying them to Haru. "See?" she grinned, laying the folder on the table so she wouldn't forget to mail it.
"That's good." He nodded and she peered at him curiously, sensing something stiff about his tone.
"You're not coming down with something, are you?"
"No – just a long day with the kids." He shrugged again, the several chains on his neck jingling together.
"All right," she murmured, sensing the wall come back up, but not knowing what to do about it. The idea of seeing if he received mail at the center had crossed her mind, but she refused to stoop that low. The problem, in her mind, was that she still loved him, even though she thought he was no longer in love with her.
Jenna slept most of the next day, to her surprise, and only woke when the phone rang. Ironically, it was Hatsuharu to see if she was awake yet and she had mumbled a 'yes' before rushing to the bathroom again.
"Good things toilets don't have a flush charge," she muttered, staring at the porcelain apparatus in irritation. Rubbing her stomach awkwardly, she turned to brush her teeth to get rid of the taste, and unfortunately had to swing right back around again.
"Hey! Feeling any better, girl?" Tammy asked, greeting her friend the next morning with her usual enthusiasm. "Wow, you don't look so hot," she added quickly, peering at a rather-green Jenna. "If you're sick, go home before you infect the rest of us!"
"I'm not sick," the woman replied dully, lowering herself into her chair. "Mornings just don't hit well lately."
"Oh my god! You're not pregnant, are you?" the blond squealed, and Jenna's eyes shot wide open.
"Pregnant?" she repeated incredulously. "I don't think so!"
"Are you sure?" Tammy pressed, and squealed again when Jenna paused. "You're not! You are!"
"I – am – not!" Jenna retorted hotly, the mere thought of pregnancy sending waves of panic through her system. "I can't be pregnant!" she moaned in her head, while trying to wear a calm face to present to her excitable coworker. "No way – I can't be! I'm not my mother!"
"Now you look worse," Tammy said, a bit nervously.
"I think I need some air," Jenna managed, getting to her feet. "I'll be back in a while."
Outside, she took several deep breaths in an effort to calm herself, which had absolutely no effect. The idea of creating a life and raising it as she was was a terrifying thought to the woman.
"I can't marry him just because I'm pregnant," she reasoned out-loud, quickly moving past denial and praying it was a worse-case scenario. "That didn't work for mom, it won't work for you. No abortion – what else can I do?" she demanded to the empty parking lot, stomping her foot angrily against the pavement.
"This isn't fair!"
"Wow, that's some mail," Momiji commented, having dropped by his cousin's office after work as usual, finding Hatori in the midst of the letter. "From Haru?"
"Jenna," the Dragon murmured, frowning a bit to himself as he scanned the pages.
"Can I read when you're done?" the Rabbit prodded. Knowing he could, having done it with Haru's letters, he plopped himself in a chair and grabbed a magazine, waiting for his cousin to finish. After a few minutes, he looked up surprise when Hatori suddenly grunted and let the paper drop to his desk. "Is something wrong?" he asked, getting up. "This is all of it, right?" he checked, sitting on the edge of the desk and shuffling the pages together again.
"She and Hatsuharu are having problems," Hatori told him curtly a few minutes later, scaring the Rabbit when he broke the silence.
"I gathered," the young man replied dryly, having skimmed the first few pages quickly. "Something else is bothering you," he realized, narrowing his eyes at his cousin. "What'm I missing?"
"It's nothing," Hatori said shortly, getting to his feet. "Leave it on the desk when you're done."
"Where're you going?" Momiji called, but the Dragon was already out the door. "Okay then," he shrugged, returning to the writing and reading it closer, hoping to find out what was bothering Hatori.
"Ahh…" Jenna sighed, her feet up on the couch as she lounged in the house a few days later. Haru was working late and the nausea hadn't been as bad that morning. She hadn't taken a test yet, fearing what it would say, and was still unsure what she was going to do if her friend had been right.
"Oh, now what," she grumbled, looking up as someone began to knock on the door. Hoping they would go away, seeing as the time was almost nine, she sighed loudly when they continued and pushed herself to her feet, mumbling to herself. Shuffling to the door in socks, jeans, and a fleece shirt, she opened the door impatiently, expecting to find a rude, persistent salesman in front of her.
"Long time no see," Hatori said calmly, looking down in slight amusement as Jenna's jaw dropped. She stammered for a moment before rushing forward and hugging him, his usual black trenchcoat swirling around them. He rested his hand on her back companionably, a little surprised – but grateful – he hadn't transformed, since it was so cold out.
"Hatori!" she laughed, her voice muffled through his coat. "What the hell are you doing here? Is something wrong?" she demanded, leaning back to stare at him in concern.
"No, nothing's wrong," he assured her, smiling a little. "Can we go inside before I explain?"
"Oh – oh, of course!" she exclaimed, stepping away and letting him in, noticing he had two average-sized suitcases with him. "Um…are you staying for something?" she asked hesitantly, shutting the door behind him.
"Yes," he nodded, shrugging out of his coat and hanging it on the rack on the wall. "I received your letter – it was very interesting."
"Interesting? Interesting how?" she repeated suspiciously, following him to the couch. She noticed he seemed slightly older than when they had first met, but at the same time had hardly seemed to age, and she wondered whether it was a Sohma trait to look that young. Likewise, Hatori was inspecting her critically and noted that Jenna appeared to have matured a good deal since they left, a new look in her eyes and the way she moved around.
"Well, I was a little surprised to hear you and Hatsuharu have been having trouble," he began, having not been surprised in the least after reading Haru's last letter.
"You didn't come here to play therapist, Hatori," she said bluntly, peering at him.
"You look tired," he mentioned, and she frowned.
"I am."
"You mentioned you were ill."
"And I can't believe you'd come just to play nursemaid, either," she said skeptically. "Out with it."
"You're pregnant."
Ah-ha! I hope you all like this new installment. I'll be introducing more of Jenna's background to everyone, since I never have, and some new feelings (or old ones brought back to life) will start to develop. I'd thank all my reviewers for the last story by name, but there's too many! So, just a general "I love you all!" And I hope you like it. Please review.