Chapter 1


A/N:

Has anyone watched/played that anime/game called "Conception"? Nope? That's fine! You don't need to in order to read this! I repeated: YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE FAMILIAR WITH CONCEPTION IN ORDER TO READ THIS.

This is a complete reimagined version of that storyline! Why? Because I watched that anime and got really sad that such an interesting concept (haha no pun intended) wasn't being used to its full potential. So, prepare yourself for the dystopian fantasy romance that is Conception: reimagined!

Things changed:

- Love rituals mean really doing the dirty if you get my drift

- Itsuki and Mahiru are NOT related

- Mana has been deleted and will not be seen ever again

- The number of Waifus has been divided by three (this makes the storyline less complicated and lets us focus on Itsuki's relationship which each a bit more. The other waifus will make background and minor appearances but will not be main characters)

- Due to many of the Waifu's being snapped, the zodiac symbolism has been replaced with card suits

- The girls actually are pregnant for three days. Think "Sims" logic

- Much darker, you have been warned

And that's about it! Please give the story a chance, especially if you haven't seen/played Conception.


Normally, Mahiru's brown eyes would be lit with her usual energy as we walked. But today, her eyes were dull and only watched her feet as she took long, but slow, steps. Sunlight shone on her dark hair, turning it a warm auburn shade. Her soft, pink lips were fixed in a neutral frown.

I looked away from her, adjusting my bag. I turned my attention to the lively street in front of us. At the end of the road sat a cozy cafe. I squinted as I tried to read the sign.

"Vache Cafe," Mahiru read.

I turned back to her just in time to see her look away. "Right. Listen, I think you're gonna love this place," I said, waiting for her to respond. When she said nothing, I continued. "This is the one that Yuuki pointed out to me. They've got amazing crepes."

Mahiru nodded. I tilted my head, trying to get a better look at her face. I pressed my lips together.

"You sure you're okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine," she said. Her pace quickened as she walked past me.

I took in a deep breath and let it out through my nose before following her.

We reached the cafe, the bell on the door letting out a soft ring as we stepped inside. Mahiru pushed past me to the counter but said nothing. I pressed the door shut, taking a breath of the coffee aroma.

The cafe was rather small with only a few tables with golden accents. The small ceiling lights were outpowered by the sunlight pouring in through the large window panes. In the corner, a plastic fan whirred back and forth, providing a slight breeze.

I smiled.

With an annoyed look, Mahiru turned to me and nodded to the cashier. I sighed and walked over to them. On the wall behind the cashier was a large panel full of colorful drawings of crepes and drinks. My eyes blurred as I tried to read the characters. After a moment, Mahiru sighed.

"Two strawberry chocolate cream crepes, please," she said.

"Strawberry chocolate..." the cashier said as he punched the buttons of the cash register. He looked between Mahiru and me. "Are you two on a date?"

Mahiru looked down at her feet again, but I simply laughed awkwardly.

"No, it's our birthday actually," I said.

"Ah, twins?" he asked.

"You know, we get that a lot," I said. "Our birthday is the same day, but I'm turning 19 and she's turning 18. So, we're birthday buddies. But we're not related."

"Well then, happy birthday to the both of you," the cashier said. "That will be 900 yen."

I handed him the money. Mahiru walked off and sat at the closest table. I waited by the counter for the food. Then, I took the crepes over to Mahiru.

She sat with her head in one hand, looking out the window. The sky reflected onto her eyes, causing them to look almost grey. I took the seat in front of her and held one of the crepes out to her.

Mahiru didn't move. The bow on her chest rose and fell with her chest as she breathed.

"Mahiru?" I asked.

Her hand dropped as she lifted her head. Her eyes moved to my face, then to the crepe in front of her.

"Oh, thanks," she said, taking the crepe.

"What's up with you today?" I asked.

Her mouth opened slightly, but she shut it again. She shook her head, staring at the crepe.

"Well?" I asked. I took a bite of my crepe and chewed it while watching her face.

Her gaze was still fixed on her food.

I sighed. "I can't help you if you don't say anything."

"What are we, Itsuki?" she said. Her hands gripped the crepe, causing the bread to tear a bit.

My eyebrows lowered. The crepe in my mouth tasted stale. I forced myself to swallow, then I smiled.

"Uh, I don't know. Humans? High school students? Manga-enthusiasts, though to be fair, that's more me than you-"

"You know what I mean."

I took in a breath. The fan buzzed in the corner, blowing a few strands of Mahiru's hair towards me.

"I thought you said you didn't want to talk about what happened," I said, lowering my voice a bit.

"I know what I said, but we can't just ignore it," Mahiru said. She set down her crepe and looked out the window again. "I don't get it. Two weeks ago, we were just friends. Now? We're, what, lovers? Ex-lovers?"

"It was just one night," I said.

"A lot can happen from 'just one night.'"

"Not if we don't let it."

"Itsuki, I'm pregnant," Mahiru said, looking me in the eye for the first time today.

I stared at her with wide eyes, almost dropping my crepe. Then, I laughed.

"Yeah, right. Haha, you got me," I said.

"I'm serious."

"How would you even know?"

"I took a test this morning."

"A test wouldn't work after one day."

"Then, why was it positive?"

"I don't know!" I threw my hands up. The cashier gave us a strange look. I put my hands down and leaned over at Mahiru, lowering my voice to a whisper. "All I know is that if you're pregnant, it's not mine."

Mahiru stood up.

She scooped her bag off the ground and walked to the door.

"Mahiru," I said with a groan, but she didn't stop.

I looked between her and the crepe sitting on the table in front of me. Aside from the rip where she had grabbed it too hard, it was completely untouched. The bell on the door of the cafe dinged as Mahiru left. I bit my lip and grabbed the crepe, slipped my bag over my shoulder, and ran after her.

"Listen, I'm sorry," I said, slipping out the door before it shut again. "Let's just talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about," Mahiru said without turning around. She kept walking, her hair bouncing as her feet hit the concrete. "If you don't want anything to do with me or the child, I get it."

"I never - urg, come on, Mahiru! Be reasonable!"

I pushed past a couple of people as I tried to catch up to her, muttering quick apologizes as I passed. I grabbed Mahiru's shoulder with my free hand and turning her to face me. For a moment, her eyes were wide, but they quickly narrowed and looked away from my face.

"I just said that if you're pregnant, it can't be-"

"I am pregnant! And it is your child!" Mahiru said.

A few people looked over as Mahiru shouted. I gave them a nervous smile before grabbing Mahiru's hand and leading her away from the busy part of the street.

"And I told you, that's not possible..." I said.

"But you were my first - my only. I don't know why I'm already showing signs or why the test-"

"Wait, what kind of signs are you showing?" I stopped, letting go of her hand as I turned to face her.

The tall buildings around the narrow alley cast long shadows over both of us. Mahiru took in a breath, glancing around for a moment before reaching for her sweater.

"I felt really sick this morning," she said. "At first, I just thought I had the flu or something, but then I noticed this."

She lifted up the bottom of her sweater, revealing her stomach. The last time I saw it, it was flat, save a little bump around the belly button. Now, it was noticeably enlarged, like someone had flattened a water balloon over it.

I stared at her stomach.

"That happened overnight?" I asked.

"Pretty much," she said, pulling her sweater back over her stomach. It was loose enough to hide the bump.

"And you're sure you weren't pregnant before this?"

"Of course I'm sure! Besides, you saw it before. It didn't look like this, right?"

"Yeah, but..." I shook my head. "This is crazy. Did you tell your parents?"

"No! No, no, no. I couldn't! They'd kill me."

"But they've got to know a whole lot more about this than we do."

Mahiru hung her head. A soft sniffle escaped her.

I took a deep breath and reached my free hand out to her. I froze and withdrew it, looking at the crepes in my other hand. With a sigh, I set down the crepes on a nearby ledge.

I wrapped my arms around Mahiru. As soon as her head hit my shoulder, I felt her shake as she began to cry.

"Hey, it's okay, it's okay," I whispered.

"It's not okay!" Mahiru said through her tears. "What am I going to do?"

"We're gonna figure this out," I said.

I ran my hands through her hair as she cried. Her hair felt so soft, like those fuzzy sweaters that she loved to wear.

I wondered if softness was genetic.

"Itsuki?" Mahiru whispered.

My hand stopped. "Yeah?"

"I...what the heck is that?" Mahiru said, stepping back and breaking the embrace. She stared at the ground, green light touching her face.

I followed her gaze. Below us was a large circular symbol. It glowed an unnatural green shade.

Mahiru and I were standing right on top of it.

Before I even had time to process anything, the ground beneath my feet disappeared. No, the ground was still there. I just fell right through it.

"Mahiru!" I screamed as I fell.

"Itsu-" Mahiru's voice called but was cut off by darkness.

Then, everything was black.