"Oh no," she muttered softly. "No, no, no! No way."

It had been at least a couple of months since her last period. At first she did not pay much attention to it—her period was irregular, after all—but this was the first time she'd felt stricken with panic. She had gotten some pregnancy test from the department store, and the results were—well... They were bad.

They were positive.

"How can this be—" she cried out in despair, clenching her abdomen. She wiped her tears on her long sleeve, sighing heavily. "No way. This can't be possible."

She knew from her conversations with her partner that it was very much impossible for someone to be pregnant. Technically it wasn't exactly that it was impossible; it was that a baby couldn't be born in normal circumstances. Before long, it would be dead due to the lack of required nutrients.

"Kimi!" She heard a voice from the entrance, a very desperate sort of voice that was marked by staccato gasps of panting. "Kimi, are you home? There's something I need to tell you. Kimi?"

"Yes," she said cautiously. "I'm here. And I have some news too." Footsteps followed in rapid succession. She looked at him, his slender body somewhat scratched from his fight with someone, perhaps an unfriendly ghoul.

He looked at her, taking in her features that had attracted him to her in the first place. She was in the bathroom, holding a long, thin device. With a jolt he realized the severity of the situation. As if the attack on the Anteiku had not made everything worse already.

"Oh shit."

His beloved girlfriend looked at him with a face of sadness. "Nishiki. I'm pregnant." She turned the device to show the two red lines on the results. Her mind was rapidly processing the events.

"Shit, this can't be happening. Kimi, you have to—"

"I've decided. I'm going to carry this baby to term," she continued. "Even if it kills me." It wasn't the most satisfactory of the responses she'd prepared for his reaction, but she felt that it was the very proof of their love they had for one another.

"Kimi!" By now he was grabbing her hands, rather forcefully. He stared at her eyes. "Have you forgotten what I've told you?"

"Yes, I know. We've talked about this for a long time, but even so, I still think it would be nice to raise a child."

He looked aghast; he moved her hands downward with gentleness. He felt guilty, because in the last few months he'd been careless and he should have used more protection. "How should I explain this... The world's not safe now. Kimi, you have to leave. The Doves found Anteiku."

"What? You can't be serious." She remembered the Anteiku as the haven for her college boyfriend, where he frequently worked as a waiter at the coffee shop in exchange for his meat. It was the only way he could safely be with her in the 20th Ward. "Does this mean that you will be leaving?"

"I have no choice. But now that I know that there's a child—"

"Nishiki. Go." She hugged him. "I don't want you to die. When all this is over, come find me and it'd be just like normal. Besides," she looked at him. "I'll survive. They don't know about our connection, do they? If we made it out alive from that well-dressed ghoul, well, we can do it."

He started to say something about how this time it's different because it's the damned Doves who are on the whole other level, but stopped short. "Kimi..." He leaned into her face, and they both shared a passionate kiss, hugging each other fiercely.

When they broke apart, he placed his hands on the woman's shoulders. "Listen to me. If things get dangerous, get an abortion and run away. Don't trust anyone. You hear me? Don't trust anyone who looks suspicious." He gave her a peck on her cheek. "I love you, Kimi. I won't forget you."

"... I love you too, Nishiki. I won't, either," she said as they make their way to the exit. She gave him a good-luck charm; he looked surprised but gave her a warm, sad smile. "Take care. We'll be waiting."

She watched as her partner walked away, placing her hand on her soon-to-be child.

A/N: Inspired by a certain tweet. Hehehe. Written in a span of a hour or less just today, so deep apologies for some OOCness and cheesy dialogue.