A/N: Here is the prologue of my story Akiza, Once Upon a Time. Thanks for reading the intro! =)
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's and all the characters within this show are property of Kazuki Takahashi, TV Tokyo & NAS. Lola, Erase Una Vez and all related characters belong to Pedro Damian, Luis Luisillo Miguel, and originally created by Cris Morena and to Televisa Productions. The only thing that is mine is this story and some OC characters.
In this story, there are times that I'll be writing this story according to the show and other times I will either add or take out scenes and making it more interesting.
Update: September 29, 2012. To those of you who have read this chapter the first time, there are some subtle changes such as description. Newcomers to this story: please don't worry about it. This chapter has the same plot line, unless otherwise. Please enjoy the re-edited version of this story.
Akiza, Once Upon a Time
Prologue
It was one raining night as thunder crashed and flashed in the night and dark sky. The rain poured heavily on New Domino City. People ran away from the rain storm while others walked down the street with umbrella covering them but water splished and splashed as they took quick steps. The lighting once again flashed in the night sky.
In New Domino Hospital, a woman was panting and moaning in pain. Sweat dripped and formed on her forehead as she shouted in pain for the third time. Setsuko Izinski was at the hospital ready to give birth to her newborn child. Next to her was a man, trying to sooth her with calm words but the pain that Setsuko felt would not go away. Her husband, Hideo Izinski, was holding her hand while she pushed her baby out of her.
She heard one of the doctors say to push once again since they saw the head appearing. Her vision was starting to get blurry, her body was ready to give out and she felt weaker by each second. She was ready to give up and fall into unconsciousness as it was welcoming her. She wanted to go to sleep and let the pain go away. She felt her husband squeezing her hand, hard, as her eyes opened weakly. She just had to push harder to get the baby out. With one final push, the baby was out.
They heard a baby wailing loud.
"Congratulations, Mrs. Izinski, you gave birth to a beautiful baby girl."
Setsuko managed to hear the doctor congratulating her. The pain she felt earlier ago diminished as a sigh of relieve passed her dry lips. She looked at her husband and she smiled. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and hugged her. Tears swelled in her light-brown eyes. They were finally going to be a family.
The doctors cleaned the baby up, cut her umbilical cord, wrapped her up with a pink blanket and handed the baby to Hideo. He looked at his newborn daughter as he held it close to Setsuko. The baby girl opened its eyes and saw her parents looking at her. A soft yawn (more like a 'mew' sound) was heard from the newborn baby. Mrs. Izinski was happy to see her daughter. Her newborn daughter looks like her with burgundy hair color, fair color skin but most of all her eyes were amber color just like her father.
"She's so beautiful. What should we name her?" Setsuko asked her husband.
"How about Akiza?" Mr. Izinski replied.
"That's a beautiful name dear. We'll name her Akiza Izinski."
Hideo handed baby Akiza to Setsuko. She cradled her daughter in her arms. The baby stared into her mother's eyes and closed them. The newborn baby fell asleep in her arms as a soft smile appeared on her face. It seems that baby Akiza got to meet her mother for the first time. Mrs. Izinski was smiling. She felt something wet on her cheeks and for the first time, she realized that she was crying of joy. She was finally a mother!
A mother!
The doctors took the baby away from her and took her to the nursery. Hideo decided to leave his wife to sleep and followed the nurse up to the nursery room. From outside the nursery room, he could tell which baby was his. It was not hard to miss his baby girl hair color. She slept in her own small and warm incubator with other newborn babies.
He went to the receptionist and asked where he could file a birth certificate. He was sent to an office that was at the end of the hall. When he arrived, he asked for a birth certificate and he filled out the baby's name, time she was born and how much she weighs on a document. After he was done, he went back to see his daughter once more before visiting his wife again.
Hideo Izinski was glad to say that he was finally a father.
Two weeks before Setsuko could give birth to her daughter, in another hospital, a young woman about the age of nineteen was pushing to get her baby out of her body. Unlike Setsuko, who dealt with the pain of giving birth, she maintained relax and calm demeanor but once in a while she winced in pain. Barbara Vasquez was ready to give birth.
'Finally, I get rid of that baby fat and I'll be all beautiful again.'
Barbara gave one final push and out came her newborn daughter. She looked to her side not wanting to know how her daughter looked like. She was afraid who her daughter looked like. Maybe the baby looked like her ex-boyfriend or him. She waited until the doctors cleaned her baby up and wrapped her daughter in a pink blanket. The doctors handed the baby to her and asked her what to name her.
"Ran Kobayakawa."
She was sure that her baby father is Hideo Izinski. Instead, she named her daughter's last name by using her ex-boyfriend last name. 'Once I get out of this hospital I'm going to find him and get what's mine.'
Barbara was cradling her newborn daughter in her arms and glance at her. She saw that her daughter looked like her but her hair color she got it from her father. She had short, brown curly hair, brown eyes, and a beige skin color. She was happy that they baby was healthy and she asked when she was going to be released from the hospital.
"In three days you can leave, but for now rest." The doctors took the baby away from her and they weight the baby and wrote her name, time she was born, and how much she weighs. They put the newborn girl in the incubator and took her to the nursery room.
Barbara was glad that the doctors took her baby to the nursery. She waited for a few seconds, just to make sure that any doctors or nurse would not come back in her room. She got out of bed, lifted up her gown and stared herself in the mirror that was in the bathroom.
'Urgh! My beautiful body is ruined!' Barbara rubbed her once-flat-stomach as a frown appeared on her face.'But not to worry, with surgery my body will look the same as before I got pregnant.'
She heard the door opening as she quickly got back in bed. A nurse came into her room and gave Barbara her meal. When she left, she opened her tray and she was not happy. They gave her bread with butter, mixed vegetables and some milk. She pushed the bread aside and ate the vegetables and drank the milk instead.
Barbara was not happy that her body got disfigured by her child. She needed to know who is her baby's father.
She was going to have to find him.
Three days later…
Setsuko was released from the hospital and Hideo had the newborn daughter in his arms as he carried on his back Setsuko's bag. They arrived at the parking lot and Hideo opened the car door, placing his newborn daughter in the baby car seat. Setsuko sat next to her daughter in the back seat as she closed the car door. Mr. Izinski got in the driver's seat, started the engine and began to drive his family back home.
Setsuko was happy to have a family with the man she love and her newborn daughter. They went inside and they took the baby in her room. When they entered the room, Setsuko was surprised by the way the room had look.
The walls were painted in light pink and there were portraits hanging on the wall. The curtain were also light pink, the shelves were filled up by toy plushies, a closet was on the right side of the room and when she opened it all her daughter clothes were there. On the left side of the room, there was a changing station in which Setsuko could change her daughter's diapers and clothes.
Next to the changing station is the crib. The crib was perfect for their daughter. It was a wooden crib that had pink bed sheets with blankets and above it, it had that toy when you twined it up, it spins around making melody music. It was definitely made for a princess to sleep in. In between the changing station and the crib, there was a rocking chair for Setsuko to sit.
"Wow, I'm speechless. I love it!" she breathed out in awe.
"I'm glad you like it."
Hideo placed her daughter in the crib as she began to stretch out her arms and legs. The both of them watched in awe as their daughter stretched and went back to sleep. Setsuko kissed her daughter in the forehead and left along with her husband. When they were out of their daughter's room, the phone rang. A maid came towards them, gave the phone to Mr. Izinski and said that it was an important phone call.
He took the phone call. "Hello?"
"Where have you been?"
Hideo recognized the voice. It was not hard to forget her voice. He glanced at his wife and gave her a soft smile. He mouthed out, 'I see you in a bit', left her, went to his office, and locked the door. Setsuko noticed her husband's strange reaction. She had a feeling that the phone that he had taken wasn't good at all.
"What do you want Barbara?" he asked angrily. "I thought I made it clear that between you and me there never was a thing."
"Well I'm just calling to let you know that I just gave birth to our daughter."
Hideo was shocked. It took him several second to snap out his state of shock. "What did you say? That can't be true."
"I said that I gave birth to our daughter and it is true." Barbara repeated once more. "Remember that one nightstand you had a few months back. Well I forgot to mention that you got me pregnant and now we have a beautiful daughter."
"This can't be true because I never slept with you. You're lying!" he shouted at her. He forgot that his wife was just outside the office. He toned down his voice. "You're trying to pin that child on me so you can separate me from my wife and daughter."
Barbara clucked her tongue. "I didn't know that you have a daughter with her," she spat in a disgusted tone when she mentioned Setsuko's name, "but I want something from you."
"What is it?"
"I want you to divorce Setsuko and live with me and our daughter."
"You want me to what now?"
"Are you having some listening problems? I said divorce Setsuko and live with me and our—"
Hideo interrupted her. "I heard you the first time. And the answer is no. I have a family and I'm living happily with my family. So don't ever call me at this number again." He was about to hang up when he heard Barbara's voice loud.
"Not so fast!" Hideo held the phone back to his ear and listened, "I'm going to show up at your house and tell your so called wife about our little affair and the result of the affair. So, if you don't want your wife to know about our little secret, then I suggest that you divorce her and live with me."
"The answer is no, Barbara. Even if you tell my wife about your daughter being mine, you have no proof that she's really mine."
He heard Barbara gritting her teeth in anger. "Fine, but when I get those proofs, you'll see that I was not lying." The line went dead. She had hung up the phone.
Hideo was angry. 'How dare she call me and tell me that I have a daughter with her. That child can't be mine! It must be her ex-boyfriend. Not mine! She did tell me once that she slept with him.' He sighed in despair at this new predicament. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid! I shouldn't have messed with her. I was drunk that night and I didn't even know what I was doing that night.'
Then a dooming idea came to his mind.'But what if she's telling the truth and that child is really mine. How would Setsuko react if she found out that I have another daughter?' Somebody was knocking at the door.
"Who is it?" he called out.
"It's me honey, Setsuko. Are you alright?"
He had forgotten for a while that he left his wife standing outside to take the unnecessary phone call. He put the phone back in its place and walked up to the door and opened it. Hideo saw Setsuko's face. She had a worried expression on her face. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"So who were you talking to?"
"It was from work." He lied. "You know I have a meeting within three days from now so I want to spend these few days with my two ladies."
He wrapped his arm around Setsuko's shoulder and took her back to their daughter's room and saw that the Akiza was sleeping peacefully in her crib. Hideo smiled at the baby and kissed his daughter's hand. Akiza gave a small smile and both parents were smiling.
Somehow, Setsuko had a feeling that her husband wasn't feeling okay.
Four years later…
Four-year old Akiza Izinski was in her backyard playing with five-year old, white-hair and golden eye Kalin Kessler and four-year old, blond-hair and emerald eye Sherry LeBlanc. Akiza was the exact replica of her mother from her hair color to her skin color except for her eye color. That she inherited from her father. Sherry and Kalin were playing at the seesaw, while Akiza was sliding down the slide. Standing a few feet away from Setsuko and Zora, Elsworth silently watched Sherry playing.
After Akiza was born, Hideo and Setsuko decided that it was best that daughter should have a godmother. Zora was asked to be Akiza's godmother and she gladly accepted. Hideo, Setsuko, and Zora had seen how much Akiza has grown and now Akiza has grown an attachment with Zora.
Within these four years, Setsuko has noticed a sudden change in Hideo.
Since that phone call that he received four years ago, he was acting very strange. He had bodyguards protecting the house and his family. When the phone rang, Hideo was the one who picked up the phone. He never let his wife use the phone unless if it was a call from the doctor or his mother wanting to know how Akiza was doing. There were times when he came happy from work and others when he came upset.
At first, Setsuko thought that her husband was being overprotective of her but whenever she was outside with her daughter her bodyguards went along with her.
Setsuko remembered that one time when she was out shopping with her daughter, Akiza wanted to use the bathroom really bad. Setsuko ordered the guards to stay outside as she went into the family bathroom(1) with her daughter. When she walked in, a woman with wavy, dark brown hair, brown eyes and beige color skin walked up to her and asked her a question about Hideo. She asked Setsuko about if she knew about his secret.
~Flashback~
"What secret are you talking about?" Setsuko asked.
"Tell me something. Has your husband feeling okay?"
She was thinking about Hideo's weird mood changes and how it was affecting her life. "Well, now that you mentioned it, he's been so protective of me and my daughter. And he's also takes the phone calls before anyone else answers it. Do you know something that I don't know of?"
The woman in front of Setsuko glanced to her sides to see if anyone was listening. "I'm not sure if I should be telling you this but there are some rumors that he might be cheating on you. He also had an affair with a woman that he met in a bar. Now that woman has a daughter and she is saying that it is his. According to the rumors, they say that his 'suppose daughter' is the same age as your daughter." She glanced at Akiza. "Not only that, but there are more rumors."
"Like what?"
"People have seen him with the same woman and now she's pregnant again."
Setsuko didn't know what to say. Was this woman telling her the truth or was she lying? She hesitantly asked, "And how do you know this?"
"Like I said, there are rumors but you should ask your husband." The mysterious woman left the bathroom and left Setsuko thinking.
~End Flashback~
"Mommy, mommy, look what I can do," Setsuko was brought back into reality as she saw her daughter sliding down the slide. When Akiza was at the bottom of the slide, she ran up to her mother and hugged her. "Mommy, mommy did you see me slide down the slide?" Akiza asked eagerly.
She smiled at her daughter, "Yes dear, I did. Looks like Sherry and Kalin are calling you to play with them."
Akiza looked at Sherry and Kalin as they waved to her to come and play. She gave her mother one last hug and she was off to play with them. Zora came by and noticed that Setsuko was spacing out again.
"Setsuko, are you okay?" Zora asked with concern.
"Yes, I'm fine."
"You're spacing out again."
"I am?"
Zora nodded. She sat next to Setsuko and she studied her facial expression. "What are you thinking about?"
"How do you know that I'm thinking?" Setsuko brought her stare down at her lap.
"Well your facial expression…it shows me that you're thinking and that you're feeling confused. What's wrong?"
Setsuko wasn't sure if she wanted to tell Zora about the mysterious woman that she met in the bathroom. But maybe what she needed is someone's opinion. "Well…I was thinking about the time when I went shopping and I took my daughter along with me and Akiza wanted to use the bathroom. When I went in, some woman came out and she was telling me about…"
"About who?" Zora asked.
She looked down, "…about my husband." She mumbled to herself but Zora heard her.
"What about your husband? What did she say?"
"She said that there are some rumors that my husband is cheating on me and that he has another daughter that I don't know of. She also told me that the woman was pregnant again." Then she remembered something. "Funny, I just remember that she told me that the 'suppose daughter' is the same age as my daughter when I didn't even tell her about my daughter's age."
"When did this happen?"
"About two years ago."
"Who was she? Do you know how she looks like?"
"I don't even know her name Zora but I do remember what she looked like. She's about the same height as me and she has curly, dark brown hair, brown eyes and beige color skin. She has a skinny body almost petite and she's pretty."
Zora remembered someone who almost fit the same description that Setsuko was describing. Then it hit her. 'Barbara. No it can't be her!' She mentally exclaimed.
"Zora," the other woman turned her attention back to Setsuko, "do you think I should ask my husband about what the mysterious woman had told me?"
"I think you should. Maybe that mysterious woman was lying to you." Zora did not think that Barbara would be back in New Domino. Just what was she up to?
"I was thinking the same thing Zora."
The conversation about the mysterious woman ended as Akiza, Kalin and Sherry ran up to the two grownups and asked if they could go inside and eat.
"I'm hungry!" Kalin protested.
"Yeah me too!" Akiza joined in. Sherry nodded in agreement as the three young children stared at Zora and Setsuko with puppy-eyed look.
Zora and Setsuko giggled. "Alright, let's go inside and see what we have to eat."
Akiza grabbed her mother's hand as Kalin and Sherry held on to Zora's hand as they head inside the mansion. As they entered, Hideo just came back from work. He dropped his briefcase on the floor. Akiza let go of her mother running towards her father.
"Daddy!" Akiza jovially shouted.
Hideo carried his daughter up in his arms and kissed her forehead. "How's my little rose princess doing today?" he asked.
"I'm doing great daddy. Look who came to visit daddy."
"And who came?"
"Zora and Kalin and Sherry."
He saw Sherry and Kalin running towards them and he ran away from them. They chased Hideo and Akiza around the living room. Akiza was laughing so much that she couldn't believe that they hadn't caught her and her daddy. They split up and they had finally caught them.
"Yay! That was fun! Let's play again" cheered Kalin.
"But I thought you were hungry." Sherry said.
"I am!"
"Daddy, put me down please." Hideo put her daughter down. "Come on, let's see if the food's ready." She ran into the kitchen while Sherry and Kalin followed Akiza behind.
Hideo picked up his briefcase from the floor, went into his office, and placed his workbag on the table. He rested his head on the table. It was a long day today. It was a hard day for him. He was secretly living a double life.
During the day, he worked but at night he leaves his house and spends some quality time with Barbara's daughters, Ran and Stephanie. Somehow, Barbara was able to prove to Hideo that Ran is his biological daughter.
Furthermore, he made the same mistake as two years ago. He slept with her again and she gave birth to another baby. That baby was Stephanie. This time Hideo decided to take some responsibility to his two daughters. Between Hideo and Barbara there is nothing going on. He only helps her with the financial needs of his two daughters. Nothing more. Nothing less. He heard a knock on the door.
"Can I come in dear?" It was his wife who on the other side of the room.
"Come in."
Setsuko slowly opened the door and she walked into the office. She closed the door and walked up to his desk. "Hideo?"
"Yes dear?"
She was thinking of the right words to say to her husband. "There's something bugging me for a while."
"I'm listening."
"I…" She hesitated for a moment but continued on, "I met someone at the mall while I was shopping with Akiza and our daughter needed to go to the bathroom. I took her to the bathroom and some lady asked me about you."
Hideo's body tensed, "What did she say or ask you?"
"She asked me…she asked me if I knew about your secret." She mumbled to herself. "She also told me about some rumors that are going around."
Hideo managed to hear her. "What kind of rumors?" he looked down at his desk.
"She said there are rumors that you have another daughter and that you…you have been seeing her." She didn't want to tell him about the pregnancy of the unknown woman.
"When did this happen?"
"Two years ago. I-I was wondering if what this woman said was true or false, Hideo."
He didn't know how to answer her question. Who was telling his wife that he's been with her? He began to fear the worse. "I want to know what she looks like. Describe her to me." It wasn't even a question but Hideo wanted to know. Who was this mysterious woman that Setsuko talked to two years ago?
"Well, she's about the same height as me and she has curly, dark brown hair, brown eyes and beige color skin. She has a skinny body almost petite and she's pretty."
Hideo was mentally freaking out. 'No, it can't be! Barbara was the one who told my wife about herself! How could she do this to me? She promised that she wouldn't interfere with my family.' Rage and anger was building up in Hideo. He was thinking all the possible ways that Barbara would ruin their happiness.
He even hired bodyguards to protect his family for crying out loud!
How could she get pass by the bodyguards without them even knowing about it. He wanted to know how Barbara was able to talk to his wife. "You said that you took Akiza to the bathroom?"
"Yes, I did."
"Was that woman in the bathroom before or after you came in?"
Setsuko tried to remember. "She was there before I came in. I think."
'So Barbara was waiting for Setsuko to arrive and tell her about us.' He got up from his seat. Hideo stormed out of his office with anger boiling in his veins. 'She promised that she wouldn't interfere with my family!'
"Hideo, wait!" Setsuko called out as she followed him out of his office. "Aren't you going to eat dinner with us?" his wife asked him.
"No, you can eat without me. Don't wait for me to come back. Just take care of our daughter and when I come back you better be asleep." He walked out of the house as the sound of the door being slammed was heard and echoed in the large mansion.
Setsuko was confused.
She walked into the dining room to eat along with her daughter, Zora, Kalin, and Sherry. She sat next to her daughter, looked at her plate, began to eat but then she felt like she lost her appetite. Zora noticed that Setsuko was playing with her food and that Hideo was not eating dinner with them.
"Where's Hideo?"
"He left." She responded. "He didn't even tell me where he was going. All he said was that he wasn't going to eat and to not wait for him to come back."
"Oh." Zora dropped the subject but she knew that she was going to bring it up soon.
After dinner, Akiza, Sherry and Kalin went to the playroom while Setsuko and Zora were in the living room drinking tea. "So, did you ask him about what the mysterious woman told you?"
"I did." Setsuko set her tea cup down. "Funny thing happen when I told my husband about this woman. I feel like he knew who I was talking about."
"How so?"
"He asked me to describe her. He didn't even tell me if the rumors were true."
Zora sighed. "Setsuko, if your husband didn't tell you if the rumors were true, then maybe the rumors are true. Did he deny you about it?"
"No he didn't. He didn't say anything. The only thing that he did was that he got out of the office and left. He didn't even say where he was going." Setsuko was now worried about her husband. "Oh Zora, I have a bad feeling about this."
"When he comes back, you should confront him about this. Right now, I should go home and take Kalin and Sherry back to their homes. Elsworth," she called out to Sherry's butler. "Call me if you need anything." Zora addressed to Setsuko as she got up and put her empty tea on the table.
Setsuko called the maid to bring Kalin and Sherry to Zora. Immediately the maid went to pick up the two kids. Zora and Setsuko heard the kids whine. Akiza, Kalin, and Sherry came out from the playroom and walked towards Zora. Elsworth followed from behind.
"Is it true Zora that we have to go home?" asked Sherry.
"Yes it's true. Let's go home. Your parents are expecting you kids to be home by eight-o'clock and its seven-forty-five."
"Oh!" they both whined.
"Don't worry, you guys can come back anytime soon and we'll continue to play." Akiza tried to comfort them.
Kalin and Sherry exchanged smiles with Akiza. "Okay, see you soon Akiza. Bye Mrs. Izinski." They both said at the same time.
"Bye Sherry and Kalin, say hello to your parents for me."
"We will." They both said in unison. Kalin took hold of Zora's hand while Sherry grabbed her butler's hand and the four of them were out of the house.
"Mommy, where's daddy?" Akiza asked as she looked around. "He didn't eat with us?"
"Don't worry dear." Setsuko patted her back. "He probably went out for a walk." She lied to her daughter. "Let's go and take you a shower. You played all day with Sherry and Kalin and you're sweating a lot."
"Okay mommy."
Setsuko carried her daughter upstairs and took her to the bathroom to shower her beloved daughter. After she was done, she took her daughter to her room and changed her into her pajamas. She called the maid and asked her to bring a cup of warm milk for her daughter while she brushed her hair.
"Do you want me to read you a bedtime story, Akiza?"
"Yes mommy. Can you read me Cinderella for me?"
"Of course honey." She went across Akiza's room and picked out the book from the shelf. The maid came in, handed the cup of warm milk to Setsuko and left. "Here you go honey, drink this cup of warm milk while I read you okay."
"Okay. Thank you mommy."
Setsuko sat next to Akiza and handed the milk to her. She opened the book and she began to read "Once upon a time there was a rich man who lived happily for a long time with his wife. Together they had a single daughter…"
~w~w~w~
Hideo was almost to his destination. He turned left and parked his car in front of the house. He got out of the car and slammed the car door with such force that he almost broke the window of the car. He walked up to the house and banged the door. "Open up Barbara, I want to talk to you right now! I know you're in there so open up!"
The door was suddenly opened and revealed Barbara in a bad mood. Just when she thinks that she can sleep in peace after a long day with her two daughters, someone had to come and bother her. "Why are you banging the door so loud?" she asked in a haughty tone. The sound of a baby crying was heard. "Now you woke up Stephanie from her sleep. Do you have any idea how long I had to keep her quiet and make her fall asleep?"
Hideo stepped in the house and grabbed Barbara from her throat. "Why the hell did you tell my wife about yourself and about Ran?" he angrily shouted at her.
"I-I didn't…I-I c-can't br-breathe…let go of m-me!" she gasped for air. She can see it in his eyes that he was extremely mad at her.
"Not until you tell me why you did it!"
Barbara was chocking and she almost losing her breath. "H-how c-can I-I tell you i-if you d-don't l-let me. Y-you're k-killing m-me!" Her face was turning a shade of red. Hideo realized that he wasn't to get any answers from her so he let go of her neck. She was breathing hard and panting for air to enter her burning lungs.
"Tell me now!" he roared in anger. "How in the hell were you able to talk to my wife? I even hired bodyguards to protect her from you!"
Barbara regained her breathe and talked, "It was a coincidence that I bumped into her. I didn't even tell her my name." She rubbed her neck. "When did she decide to tell you about us?"
"She told me today."
She clucked her tongue in disappointment. "It took her long enough to tell you. I've been waiting for her to tell you about us when I first told her about it. I wasn't expecting her to tell you until now. So, what did she ask you?"
"She asked me if the rumors were true about me cheating on her and having a daughter with you, but apparently since you didn't tell her that it was you. I would still like to know how you were able to avoid the bodyguards."
"I overheard that your daughter wanted to go to the bathroom, so I ran to the bathroom and I waited for her to come in. Good thing she did leave her bodyguards outside waiting. I approached her and told her about us but I told her that there were rumors."
He couldn't believe what she just said. 'Just like thought, she waited for Setsuko to be alone without the bodyguards.' He thought to himself. Barbara was one sly lady. "Well I want you to know that I'm not going to be visiting you anytime soon."
"What!" Barbara shouted. "Why?"
"Because of what you did, that's what! Instead of me coming to visit my daughters every single day, I'm going to visit them every two or three days a week. I'm also going to cut your financial needs."
"You can't do that to me! How am I going to give support to our daughters?"
"You're going to figure out by yourself. I'm leaving. If Ran asks why I didn't come and visit, well you should know what to say." He was going to open the door but Barbara grabbed his arm.
"You're going to regret this Hideo. I'm not going to give up on you until you're mine! Do you hear me?! Mine!"
"Whatever." He shook her off and fixed his suit. "You know that I'm never going to love you as much as I love Setsuko." He closed the door behind him.
Barbara heard the sound of his car starting up. "Hideo you're not getting away with this. Your wife is going to pay for this very dearly." She picked up her cell phone and called someone. A few rings were heard until she someone picked up the phone call. "Hello…Yes…This is Barbara. I want you to do something for me…yes, don't worry I'll give you all the money you need…Here's what I need you to do for me, I want you to kill someone for me…Are you willing to do this job?" A smirk appeared on her face. "Excellent."
The following week, Setsuko had a doctor's appointment so she left her daughter with Zora. She was waiting for the limousine to pick her up and leave her at the hospital. When the limousine arrived, she went in the limousine along with a bodyguard and they were off to the hospital…or so she thought. The limousine passed by the hospital and Setsuko was getting worried.
"Excuse me, driver, but we already passed by the hospital."
"I know that Mrs. Izinski but we decided to change the course of the destination."
"What?" Setsuko wasn't aware that she was grabbed from behind. Something was covering her mouth. Setsuko started to panic as the smell of chloroform was entering her nose. She was trying to get away from the person that was behind her but she couldn't fight back. Slowly, she was fading into the unconscious.
"Nighty, night Setsuko." Barbara smirked maliciously from upfront.
~w~w~w~
Setsuko woke up and she found her legs and arms tied up to a chair. Her mouth was covered by a handkerchief with reeked and tasted like sweat. The last thing she remembered was that she was supposed to go to the hospital for her appointment. 'Where am I?' She wondered.'Shouldn't I be at the doctors already?'
Darkness was all around her. The only thing that she could see was a small faint of light coming out underneath the door. She heard someone approaching her way. She quickly closed her eyes to listen or see who had kidnapped her in the first place.
"She's still not awake."
"This ought to wake her up."
Setsuko heard the footsteps walking away but then it came back to her. She felt something cold being splashed on to her skin that she opened her eyes. She saw the person in front of her and she gasped. 'No it can't be!'
"Now that you're awake do you remember me?"
The handkerchief was removed out of her mouth. "You're the woman that told me about my husband who was possibly cheating on me." Setsuko's teeth began to chatter. Her body trembled with fear.
"Yes, yes I am and it good to see you again Setsuko." Barbara grinned at her with maliciousness written on her face.
"Who are you? How do you know my name?"
"I'm Barbara Vasquez. I'm Hideo's lover." She heard Setsuko gasped again. "And how do I know your name? Well, that's for me to know and for you to find out. Oh wait, you won't."
"Why is that?" she asked fearfully.
"Because I'm going to kill you." Barbara took out a knife from her pocket. Setsuko's eyes widen in fear. "If Hideo can't be with me then he won't be with you either." Barbara ran towards Setsuko with the knife on her hand and stabbed her on the chest. She felt something warm coming out of her as she fell back along with the chair. "You took away Hideo from me!"
"How?" She asked. She felt pain coursing through her body. "How did I take him away from you?"
Barbara hovered over Setsuko's body. It was like she was the predator while Setsuko was her prey. "Hideo was engaged to me. He was supposed to marry me but he left me to be with you instead. We had everything prepared for the wedding until he saw you and he decided that he was in love with you."
Setsuko had no idea that her husband was engaged to Barbara. Hideo told her that he was single. She now felt betrayed. 'Why didn't Hideo tell me that he was engaged to her? How was I supposed to know that he had a fiancée that he abandoned?'
"After he left me, I found out that I was pregnant. I was trying to find him and tell him the news but he was nowhere to be found. After I gave birth to our daughter, I was able to contact him. I called him."
"You mean that you were the one who called him four years ago?" she asked in surprised.
"Yes, that was me. I proposed to your husband to divorce you and live with me and our daughter but he refused to it. I even threaten him that I would show up and tell you about his other daughter if he didn't divorce you. But back then I didn't have proof to show that my daughter was his until I got to sleep with him again."
A devious smirk pried on her lips as she began to reminiscence. "Two years ago, I found him alone in the bar and he was already drunk out of his mind. So I decided to have fun with him. Before I left him in the hotel room, I was able to get some of his saliva for a DNA proof. When I gave birth to our second daughter and I able to see him again I was able to prove that my older daughter was his."
'What? Hideo really did cheat on me. He now has a second daughter that I don't know of. Where did I go wrong Hideo?'Tears were streaming down Setsuko's cheeks.
Barbara continued. "So this time, Hideo took his responsibility as a father to my two daughters. He kept me away from you by hiring some bodyguards to protect you and your daughter. I wasn't even able to be near your house, so he gave me some financial support for my daughters only just to keep me away from you and your daughter. He came by my house only to see my daughters. He gave them love and what did I get?" she shouted.
Setsuko recoiled in fear. She was afraid of what Barbara was going to do to her.
"I get rejection and hatred! He never saw me with love! He always was thinking about you and your bitch of a daughter. Now since you told Hideo about you meeting with me, he decided to cut his visiting days with my daughters and the financial needs. You're going to pay for this." She snapped her fingers. "Boys!"
At her command, two men came by her side. They were tall and extremely buff. On their face, a criminal mark was tattooed on their cheeks. "You know what to do with her." Both men nodded. "Get to it." She left Setsuko on the floor bleeding while the two men approached Setsuko.
She could see them smirking devilishly as they each stripped off their shirts and unbuckled their belts with such haste. Setsuko eyes widen with fear.
"No."
They touched her damaged body as they fingered and traced her body with such delicacy. She tried to get away but they held her in place.
"No."
They cut off her clothing. They touched her inappropriately. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"No!"
One of them cut off the rope from her legs as they lifted her dress up and tore her underwear revealing her sex. She saw one of the men placing himself between her legs and pushed himself forward.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
~w~w~w~
A black limousine stopped in an alleyway. Two men came out and dumped Setsuko on the ground. The two men went back in the limousine and left her semi-naked. She has a lot of cuts on her body, black and purple bruises on her arms, legs and even her face. She was trembling on the cold ground.
A random stranger saw Setsuko trembling and he approached her. She curled herself in a ball and covered her face.
"P-please…d-d-don't h-hurt m-me…" She stuttered in fear. Setsuko went unconscious.
The man didn't know what to do but he had to call for help. He took out his cell phone from his pocket and called the ambulance, "Hello, I need the ambulance now!"
~w~w~w~
Zora was still babysitting Akiza. Akiza was playing with Sherry and Kalin. Once in a while Akiza asked Zora if her mother was going to pick her up. Zora told her that she would be coming anytime soon.
But 'anytime soon' didn't come.
'That's weird. Setsuko should have been out of the hospital hours ago. Something's not right. Why do I have a feeling that something bad happen to her? Why am I even thinking so negative?' Zora brushed off that thought when she heard the phone ring.
"Hello, this is Zora…what…I'll be right there." Zora grabbed Akiza, Kalin and Sherry. She let Elsworth be in charge of the three children and take them back to Sherry's house.
"Zora, what's going on? Where's mommy?" asked Akiza, once they arrived to Sherry's house.
"She's in the hospital." She quickly answered.
"Why? Is she okay?"
"I don't know that's why I going to see her, you stay here with Sherry. I'll call you and let you know okay."
"Okay." Akiza was getting worried about her mother.
Zora left at once to the hospital. When she arrived, she asked the receptionist if they have Setsuko in the hospital. They told her that she's in the emergency room. Zora waited for a doctor to come out and tell her what happened to Setsuko. She waited for twenty minutes until a doctor came out and asked for Setsuko's family.
"Yes doctor? How is Setsuko doing is she okay? What happened to her?" Zora bombed the doctor with many questions.
"Calm down Miss," he gripped her shoulders, "Mrs. Izinski is in bad condition. She has some bruises on her face, arms and legs. She also has a lot of cuts on her body and she was also stabbed on the chest. Mrs. Izinski was also raped."
She inhaled sharply. "Raped?"
"Yes, I'm sorry to say this but she's lost a lot of blood and I'm afraid there's nothing we can do about it."
Zora didn't know what to do. How was she going to be able to tell her goddaughter about her mother's situation? And most of all, how was she going to react to this? "Can I see Setsuko?"
"Yes, follow me."
Zora followed the doctor up to Setsuko's room. When she entered, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. There were a lot of wires attached to her arms. Just like the doctor said, Setsuko's body was covered with black and purple bruises and saw some cuts on her arms. 'Who would do such a thing to her?'
"Try not to make her talk too much." Zora nodded and the doctor left her with Setsuko.
Zora walked up to her bed and saw her face twisted with anger and fear, but mostly fear. "Setsuko, it's me Zora. Tell me what happened to you."
"Z-Zora," Setsuko spoke weakly, "is t-that y-you?"
"Yes, it's me. What happened you were supposed to go to your appointment? Who did this to you?"
"Zora…it was…it was…" Setsuko wheezed, "Barbara." She coughed. "She's the one who I met at the mall two years ago…"
"Barbara did this to you!" Zora should have known this. Seeing her friend in this condition made her blood boil in anger. "But how?"
"S-she k-kidnapped m-me…" she began to stutter, "she w-wanted me d-dead because I took H-Hideo away from her. H-Hideo was engaged to her"
Zora gasped. That could not be true! "What!"
"Z-Zora, p-please bring A-Akiza to me. I want to t-talk to her."
"Okay, I'll bring your daughter to you. Just hold on a little bit longer."
"I promise Zora."
Zora left her room, called at taxi and went to Sherry's house. She picked up Akiza and took her to the hospital at once. Akiza asked if her mother was okay but Zora didn't answer her. Akiza had a feeling that her mother wasn't okay. She tried her best not to cry on her way to the hospital. When they arrived to the hospital, she took her goddaughter to see her mother. As they entered her room, Akiza was getting scared, "Mommy?"
"A-Akiza, is that you?" Setsuko whispered.
"Mommy," Tears swelled in Akiza's eyes. Just seeing her mother in this condition made her want to scream. Who would hurt her mother? "Are you okay? Are you going to die?" Akiza asked fearfully as tears were coming out of her amber eyes.
"Akiza, d-don't cry…" Setsuko tried to wipe away her daughter's tears. "I want you to be a strong girl for me…I'm not going to die sweetie…I'll always be with you no matter what…but you have Zora to protect and love you…Zora," she glanced at her friend, "promise me one thing."
Zora looked at her. Tears formed in her eyes, "Yes Setsuko?"
"If I do ever die, please take care of my daughter…don't let Hideo take my daughter away from you…you and Akiza should escape from him…" The heart rate machine was beeping as Setsuko was feeling that she couldn't breathe. She just needed a few more words before anything bad happens to her. "Zora, there's something in my purse for Akiza…can you take it out for me?"
Zora grabbed her purse and pulled out a deck of cards.
"Akiza, see the deck of cards Zora has in her hands," Akiza glanced at Zora who was holding a deck of card. It was not just any ordinary deck of cards. It was a deck of duel monsters. She nodded, "That's your very own deck that I was going to give to you today and there's something else I would like to give you…Zora can you take out the necklace that's inside."
Zora nodded gave the deck of cards to Akiza and took out the necklace. The necklace was shaped like a dragonfly but it had an emerald gem(2). "See this honey, you can use this necklace as a good luck charm…you can use this…when you feel that you need me…" Setsuko was feeling that she couldn't say more, she was losing her breath.
The heart rate machine was beeping so much that Zora went out to call the doctor. Akiza stayed by her mother's side.
"Mommy, mommy, please don't die." She begged with tears streaming on her cheeks.
"A-A-Akiza, d-don't worry, I-I'll be fine." Setsuko used her last breath and the machine gave the loudest beep.
Akiza was horrified. Her mother was dying in front of her very eyes. Setsuko was staring directly at the ceiling with a blank expression. "No, no, no. Mommy, please don't die…mommy!"
Zora came in and saw Akiza crying on her mother's bed. Two doctors came in and Zora took Akiza outside. The doctors did their best to save Setsuko's life but they couldn't. When they came out of her room, the doctor gave Zora the bad news.
"I'm sorry but she died."
Akiza couldn't believe what she heard: her mother is dead. Gone. Who was going to tell her bedtime story? Who was going to hold her? With the biggest scream she could give, she screamed out, "MOMMY!"
Her screamed could be heard throughout the whole hospital…and possibly throughout town.
A few days later, Zora held a mini funeral for Akiza's mother. Zora, Sherry and her parents, along with her butler Elsworth, and Kalin were at the funeral giving their last goodbye to Setsuko. Hideo doesn't know what happened to his wife. When he called Zora and asked for his wife and daughter, she told him that she left out of the country. She told him that she didn't know when she was coming back. This gave time for Zora to flee from Hideo and avoid at all cost to get his daughter.
Akiza was in her room holding on to the necklace that her mother gave her before she passed away. She asked Zora about her father but she was told that her father left the country for a long time. She felt so lonely but she has Zora to rely on for now.
Zora came in and sat next to her goddaughter and gave her a glass of warm milk. "Do you want me to read to you?"
Akiza quickly hid her necklace underneath her pillow. "Yes. Zora, can you read to me Cinderella? Mommy never got to finish reading it to me because I fell asleep."
"Okay." Zora went to get the book. She found the book and sat next to Akiza, "Are you ready for me to read it to you?"
She got comfortable and rested on Zora's side. "I'm ready."
Zora began to read, "Once upon a time there was a rich man who lived happily for a long time with his wife. Together they had a single daughter. Then the woman became ill, and when she was lying on her deathbed, she called her daughter to her side, and said, "Dear child, I must leave you now, but I will look down on you from heaven. Plant a little tree on my grave, and when you want something, just shake the tree, and you shall get what you want. I will help you in time of need. Just remain pious and good." Then she closed her eyes and died. The child cried, and planted a little tree on her mother's grave. She did not need to carry any water to it, because her tears provided all the water that it needed(3)."
Akiza listened to the story as Zora continued to read. It was not the same when her mother had read this story.
Now she knew how Cinderella felt when she lost her mother.
(1) If you're wondering what a family bathroom is, it's a bathroom in which a parent and the child can go to the same bathroom. There is also a nursery room to breast feed the baby. I actually been into one but I only wanted to know what it had
(2) The necklace that Akiza receives is the one she uses in the show.
(3) The Cinderella story that I placed is the Grimm Brothers version.
A/N: Well that's the prologue of this story. I wasn't expecting to write this much. Chapter one is up. You know the drill: Review!
P.S. On Monday night, expect two Valentine's Day one-shot special. :)
P.S.S. Chapter 1 will be updated soon. Thanks for re-reading the Prologue!