Love, Hate
A glass shattered on the kitchen floor. She bent down and began to clean fast before her husband heard. Too late. Thumps came from the stairs.
"What was that?" her husband screamed. She stood up. Her face was bruised. Her arms were red and purple. She was in bad shape, and not getting better.
"The glass fell on the floor." she said trying to hide her fear of her husband. It showed more than she wanted it too.
Without a word the man walked over and slapped her with such force, she fell to the floor. She landed on the glass shards. She screamed in pain.
"I'm going to the bar, when I come back this house best be clean and dinner ready understand!" he yelled. She simply nodded and he walked out the door. Hot tears made there way down her face. She stood up and pulled the shards from her thigh. She tried to stand up but she fell to the floor once again and yelped in pain.
"Hey Ichigo I just, Oh my gosh!" Lettuce dropped the grocery's she was holding and ran to her beat up friend.
"What happened?" she asked pulling Ichigo to her feet. Ichigo made up a lie.
"Um, I dropped this glass after I mopped and slipped on the wet floor." she lied. Lettuce looked at her knowingly but didn't do anything. She helped her clean up.
"Thanks Lettuce but I think you should leave, Zen will be home soon and he doesn't… approve of guests while he is out." Lettuce nodded.
"Well, how is the baby?" she asked laying a hand on Ichigo's pregnant stomach. Ichigo winced.
"What's wrong?" Ichigo shook her head.
"You really should leave." Ichigo said plainly.
"Ichigo there is something wrong and you need to tell me, you are pushing away all of your close friends."
"Just go!" she shouted.
"Ichigo there us something wrong!" she said picking up the dropped grocery's.
"Even if you did figure out, there is nothing you can do now leave!" she shouted again. Lettuce looked at her sadly and walked out the door. The slammed shut. Ichigo slumped on to the couch and began to sob. Pull your self together Ichigo, you have work to do. She walked to the kitchen and began to clean.
Ichigo was nine months pregnant with supposedly a baby girl. Zen made it apparent he didn't want a child. He yelled at Ichigo for months after that it was her fault. She believed it. He was a horrible, abusive, drunk. Ichigo did not want to birth a child to the world knowing that it too could be abused like her. One thing always bothered her for the whole nine months, she didn't know who's baby it was.
Ichigo stopped sweeping and pulled up her shirt. She looked at the cuts and bruises caused by her horrid husband. She would be lucky if it wasn't mentally sick or wouldn't come out fully developed.
She sighed as she started to cook. She remembered how they got married.
Flashback
Ichigo was fifteen. Zen bowed before her. Her eyes were sad, she spoke softly.
"Nice to meet you." she said. He didn't speak. Her parents laid a hand on her shoulder. He took her hand and kissed it tenderly. She wasn't impressed. An arranged marriage. She was not happy at all. Her parents were running out of money so they had to marry her of at fifteen. She sat in a chair. She had absolutely no choice about this situation.
Zen walked over and sat next to her. She inched away. He came close to her and whispered in her ear.
"We're getting married if you like or not princess, got it?" he hissed. She gulped. She knew how this would turn out. She nodded and he smiled and made look like he kissed her on the cheek.
"Smile cutie, smile!" he comanded and continued with his nice guy act. She was truly scared. She had fought aliens and some mutated animals, but this was one of the first times, she feared for her life.
Ichigo sat at the kitchen table. She was only twenty one and she was pregnant. She felt guilty and as if it was her fault. She started to cry. There was a knock at the door. She looked through the 'peep hole' It was a salesman. Just then her husband drove up in the into the driveway. He looked terribly drunk. She was scared. She searched the house knowing that the salesman would delay him a few minutes. She straightened her clothes out making everything perfect. Just like the appearance of her marriage outside of the house. She opened the door. Her husband walked through the door.
"Zen." she nodded her head as he walked by. He pushed her to the ground. She hit her head on the coffee table beside the door. She held back cries of pain and walked to the table and waited for Zen to start eating. That was one of his rules. The rules that kept her barley alive. If she abided them then she might not get beat to death. May not have been his exact words but it was close enough.
They ate in silence. Ichigo dropped her fork. There was a kick in her side. Zen looked at her in confusion.
"What's your problem?" he asked angrily. She stood up and water spilled from her. "You better clean that up. Now!" She gave him a dirty look.
"My water broke Zen." she said obviously.
"So?" he said impassively.
"I'm giving birth, Zen I need to get to the hospital!" she screamed. She yelped in pain.
"Drive yourself! I'm staying right here!" he said kicking his feet up on to the table. She fell to her knees. She ran to the phone and called Lettuce.
"L-Lettuce, I need a ride." she said. She took a deep breath.
"Okay, were do you need to go and when?" she asked.
"I need a ride now, umm to the hospital, my water broke." she said breathing deep. This was all new to her. Her husband stared at her stupidly like he had no clue what was going on. He looked at Ichigo and laughed. He then passed out.
Lettuce arrived ten minutes later carrying a suitcase with her.
"I came prepared alright let's, what happened to him?" she asked.
"I'll explain later let's get out of here, he isn't coming."
On the way Ichigo explained the whole thing to Lettuce. Everything from the beginning to end. And even how she got pregnant and how she didn't know who's it was. Lettuce hugged her friend at a stoplight.
They left and arrived at the hospital.
Pudding, Mint, and Zakuro came later. Ryou and Akasaka did too.
"PUSH NA NO DA!" Pudding yelled. Zakuro held Ichigo's right hand and Lettuce held her left. Ichigo cried in pain. She screamed and yelled but pushed hard.
"It's out!" the doctor said. Cheers and cries of happiness came from that hospital room.
"It's a girl!" he said. Ichigo smiled until she got the child. It had her pink hair (mew mew pink hair) and amber eyes with somewhat pointed elven ears and pale skin.
Everyone gasped.
"Ichigo," Mint said. Ichigo cried. She held the child in her arms. She didn't know what to do. Ryou and Akasaka walked in and joined the crowd in surprise.
"Ichigo." Ryou said.
"It wasn't my fault. I thought it was him until he left, he called me kitten!" she cried. "I truly thought it was Zen!" she yelled. She held the child tighter.
"What about Zen?" Zakuro said.
"I think it's best if you came to live with me for a while Ichigo." Lettuce said. "I can help you out." Ichigo nodded but she wandered what was going to happen to Zen. This was going to be difficult.
She lay awake that night. Mai, her newborn, slept peacefully and in perfect health too. What about Zen. Am I supposed to divorce him and marry Kishu? I can't marry an alien. Not on Earth at least. I swear if I ever see that alien again I am going to strangle him to death! Mai stirred slightly. Ichigo pet her head.
Her friends had made a chart since Ichigo would be there for a week, they would switch out. It was Ryou's turn tonight. Her and Ryou had become close friends. Too close she had feared. Zen would make it look as though she was cheating. If that is what he would do about a guy friend then what would he do about an alien baby. That wasn't his. This would be a change for the worse.