WARNING: Hatori/Chiaki and Kisa/Yukina appear in this chapter.
Ritsu opened her eyes, feeling well rested as she turned over in bed. When she caught sight of the clock by Ichiru's bed, she screamed, "OH MY GOD, I'M LATE!" her outburst woke the whole apartment as she shot out of bed and rushed to find her clothes.
Ichiru calmly cooked breakfast in her kitchen as she heard Ritsu run around in a panic. Once her house guest ran into the dining room she asked, "Ichiru, do you know where my bag is?"
Ichiru set a plate of breakfast down in front of Ritsu, "Relax Ri-chan, you have plenty of time to turn you work in." she said in a calm manner as she turned off the stove.
"How can you be so calm?" Ritsu said, still panicking about missing work.
Ichiru smiled pleasantly, "I already called your work and told them that you were taking a sick day. I told them not to worry and that the storyboards will be delivered by this afternoon." she said informatively as she took a seat at the table before she started eating.
Ritsu calmed somewhat and asked, "And they took your word for it, just like that?"
Ichiru took a sip of her coffee, "I told them that I was your doctor and that you were staying the night with me." she answered, as though it was the most normal thing to do.
Ritsu breathed out a sigh of relief as shesat down and started eating the breakfast Ichiru made for her, "Thanks Ichiru, but, you didn't have to do that." she said as she bit into a sausage.
Ichiru smiled, "Nonsense. As a pregnant woman, you are required to have additional hours of sleep along with short naps when needed." she said, speaking as a doctor, "Also, I'll help you with your storyboards if you need it, I'm not on shift until this evening anyway." she added, her day pretty much cleared.
Ritsu smiled, "Thank you. I need all the help, and the sleep as I can get." she said as she continued to eat her breakfast before a thought came to her, "By the way, when do you think I'll start to show?" she asked, wondering when she will have her baby bump.
Ichiru answered without hesitation, "If you're a first-time Mom, you could begin developing a baby bump any time between 12 and 16 weeks." she said before an idea struck her, "If we finish the storyboards sooner, maybe we could go maternity clothes shopping. Think you'll be up for it?" she asked.
Ritsu rolled the idea in her head, better to do it sooner rather than later while her boss doesn't suspect a thing, "Might as well." she shrugged before inhaling her food and washing it in the sink at impossible speed.
Once the dishes were in the dish rack, she spotted her bag on the sofa and made a beeline toward it, "Time to get started." she said as she pulled the storyboards out and started working at a determined pace.
For three hours, she and Ichiru made corrections to the storyboards. By the end of it, it was already 2pm and Ritsu looked like she was gonna drop while Ichiru slumped in her couch, "Never thought editing manga could be that tiresome." Ichiru said, fanning herself before she cracked her neck.
"This was only a small portion and I've become even more exhausted." Ritsu said, feeling tired as she laid back on the couch.
Ichiru looked at Ritsu with sympathy before she got up from the couch and gathered the finished storyboards, "I'll drop these off at your work. You rest, that's an order." she said as she clipped the storyboards together and stashed it away in her bag before getting her coat and shoes.
Once she was out the door, she drove to Marakawa Publishing and went through the directions Ritsu wrote for her in order to get to the Emerald Department once she was inside the building.
"Okay, 4th floor… take two rights... walk pass three openings before you get to Emerald." Ichiru read as she followed the directions that were written in her hand. After asking an employee where Emerald was, she made her way in the direction pointed and swore that her breakfast was about to come up.
Her eyebrow twitched as she stared at the stressed out half-dead, or decomposing, editors with discomfort. 'Okay, now I can understand why she would want to transfer out of this department. This is certainly not at all healthy for a pregnant woman.' she thought to herself, getting a whiff of someone who hadn't bathed in a month.
Not really sure how to proceed, she raised her hand and knocked on the entryway, "Um, excuse me, I'm here to make a delivery to someone named Takano. He's expecting a manuscript from Ritsu Onodera." she announced, a little awkward considering the atmosphere.
"Right here." Takano said at the head of his department as he straightened himself up tiredly.
"Okay, hold on a sec." Ichiru said as she walked through the war zone and stepped over a seemingly unconscious editor with black hair, "Excuse me, sorry." she apologized until she made it to the editor-in-chief.
She dug through her bag and handed him the manuscript, "Here you go." she said, breathing through her mouth seeing that she was at the center of the stink, 'How has Ritsu survived this long?'
"Thank you." Masamune said as he took the manuscript from her and asked, "How's Onodera doing?"
"She's doing fine right now, she's sleeping it off as we speak." Ichiru answered, not really wanting to be in this stench any longer.
What Masamune said next really pissed her off, "This is three days passed its deadline. You should not distract her so much; if she has time to fool around with you, she has time to get some work done." he said, a hint of jealousy creeping into his voice.
A tic mark sprouted on Ichiru's forehead at that comment, "Well, speaking as her doctor, she needs more sleep due to her fatigue and stress that came with this job. Considering how you run this place, I believe it will do her some good to transfer, hopefully the Literature Department will be less stressful and smelling less of decomposing flesh and depression." she said, looking at the dump of a department.
That sentence stung Masamune to the core as Ichiru continued, "By the way, I need you to read this out loud. Say it slowly then three times fast." she said handing him a slip of paper before backing away, leaving the room, but standing just outside the department to hear her classic prank.
Masamune unfolded the piece of paper and stared at the words in bewilderment before reading them out slowly, "I'm. Sofa. King. Stew. Ped." he said this aloud three times fast, earning him strange looks from his editors.
Realizing what she made him say, he yelled out, "Damn you!" scaring his editors as he stormed out of the department. He looked both ways to see that she was long gone.
'I'm gonna kill that woman as soon as I find out who she is!'
Ichiru laughed hysterically the moment she got in her car, that prank she pulled on that pissed off looking bastard made it all the funnier. She was saving that prank for that coworker of hers, Tsumori, because he would constantly flirt with her like an idiot. Guess she will have to wait until this evening, make him look stupider than he already was.
She could only imagine the look on Masamune's face as she drove home, serves him right for thinking he was better than Ritsu like that.
Arriving at her apartment she saw Ritsu still passed out on the couch. Not wanting to disturb her friend's restful sleep, she quietly made her way to her room and pulled out a tan envelope filled with printed out paper from her bedside drawer. Sitting at her laptop, she started typing away as she looked at her paper every now and then.
By 4pm, Ritsu and Ichiru were at the mall looking and buying maternity clothes. Ichiru pushed the shopping cart as Ritsu browsed through the clothes, occasionally pulling one out and adding it to the cart.
Ritsu held a pair of maternity pants with a matching top to her front as she stood in front of the mirror, "I'm not really sure how many I should get." she said, contemplating whether or not she should add this item to the cart.
Ichiru pulled out an adorable set of kitten pajamas and held it to Ritsu's front, "Your due date will be between November and December, so you're gonna need to stay bundled. As the old saying goes: better to have and not need it, than to need it and not have it." she said before adding the pajamas to the cart.
Ritsu smiled before adding in her item, "I guess you're right."
Ichiru pushed the cart as she faced her friend who walked beside her, "By the way, you plan on having any baby showers?"
Ritsu looked up at her friend before shrugging, "I don't know. Baby showers are basically parties, and I always have to smile at parties. This may seem a little bitchy, but I really don't like going to gatherings where I have to pretend I'm having a good time. 'Sides, I'm not all that close to my coworkers and you're my only friend here." she said before a cute pair of baby shoes caught her eye as she pulled them out and started cooing at them.
Ichiru shrugged, "Suit yourself, you and I would make plenty of friends, and you get free stuff for the baby." she said cheekily as she got a hold of a baby teddy bear and danced it in front of Ritsu who smiled and giggled before taking the bear and holding it to her tummy.
"Actually, my coworker, Kisa already knows." Ichiru turned to Ritsu curiously for her to continue, "She walked in on me puking my guts out. Well, in short, she hugged me and my boobs started to hurt and she figured it out full circle. She promised to keep it a secret, and I owe her." she said before placing the teddy bear to the cart as the continued walking.
"Perhaps she will be up for a little outing at that karaoke bar. You said you loved the sushi and dancing is a great exercise during pregnancy. Not only do you get to move your body to music you love, but it will keep you flexible while toning your muscles." Ichiru said, proposing another girls night.
Ritsu smiled, "She would love that, hopefully. I hardly ever get to know my coworkers due to our hectic deadlines. Perfect opportunity to make friends with her. Oh, don't let her appearance fool you; she's a 30-year-old woman with the face and body of a teenager." Ritsu said, giving Ichiru a heads up.
Ichiru nodded, "I'll keep that in mind." she said as they found themselves in the baby clothes section. It was at this point, Ritsu wanted to stay in that department and be surrounded by cuteness. Stars sparkles around her as she danced from clothing rack to clothing rack, "I have died and gone to heaven. Oh my god, this one smells like vanilla." She sang as she sniffed a bunny onesie.
Ichiru couldn't help but smile at Ritsu's off world attitude, "I don't know what planet you went to, but please allow me to partake in the festivities." she said walking up to Ritsu who handed the vanilla scented onesie to her. Taking a whiff of the little article of clothing, "Yep, mini-Ritsu's gonna love it." she said before tossing it into the cart like a basketball.
Ritsu was in one of the best moods as she picked up one baby outfit after another, "Best day of my life." she said as her hand latched onto a onesie with a little bear on it at the same time as another hand.
"Oh, sorry, you first." she said releasing the outfit before looking up. She had a heart attack when she saw who it was, "Gah! Hatori, what are you doing here?" she said, backing away slightly as she stared up at her serious coworker, feeling like she was caught committing a crime.
Hatori blinked at the shorter girl, "I could ask you the same thing." he said, taking note of the bundle of clothes draped in Ritsu's arm.
Ritsu hid the clothes behind her back, "Hehe, eh, funny story here, I can explain." she laughed nervously, trying to come up with an excuse so that this doesn't reach Masamune.
"What going on Tori?" a young woman with brown hair tied up in a low ponytail and blue eyes came to Hatori's side. Hatori in turn faced the young woman with a soft expression as he showed her the onesie, "Oh my god, this will look adorable on him." she said, holding the onesie to her belly, making Hatori smile.
Ritsu could only watch in bewilderment, never had she seen the stoic second-in-command smile at anyone like that. "Am I seeing this right?" she said to herself, making the couple face her.
The woman tilted her head in question, "Hi, do you know Tori?" she asked, looking from Ritsu to Hatori curiously.
"She and I work in the Emerald Department." Hatori answered before asking, "What are you doing here exactly? Are you pregnant?" he said bluntly.
Ritsu went red at being caught, but quickly denied, "Hold on, who said I was pregnant?"
"Ri-chan, I found a maternity pillow for you!" Ichiru rolled in singing with the cart that had a huge pillow shaped to encompass a pregnant woman, "It will feel like you're being cuddled!" Ichiru added, stopping in front of them.
Ritsu stood frozen in her spot, knowing that she cannot deny the secret she was keeping in front of her coworker. She could not believe the awful timing her friend had, but couldn't find it within her to be mad knowing that she was only trying to help.
"Dr. Kurosaki?" Hatori said, recognizing the woman who stared back in confusion before recognizing the couple, "What the hell, Hatori and Chiaki-san." she said as she stepped away from the cart to approach them.
Ritsu who wore a shocked expression as Ichiru came to stand beside her, "Huh, you know them?" she asked, turning her face from Ichiru to the couple.
Ichiru smiled at Ritsu's confused expression, "Yeah, they came to me about five weeks ago for a little emergency and told them that this was something 9 months can't fix." Ichiru said turning to the couple who couldn't help but smile at the memory of finding out.
Ritsu connected the dots as she faced the couple with surprise, "You mean, Hatori you're..." she paused as the man in front of her held Chiaki's hand, "Mmhm, we are officially thirteen weeks." he said turning to face a blushing Chiaki who placed a hand to her belly and laughed lightly.
Ritsu clapped her hands together, "Oh my god, congratulations." she squealed as all three of them smiled at her reaction.
"Thank you." Hatori and Chiaki said before Chiaki asked, "So, how far along are you?"
Ritsu scratched the back of her head and said, "Um, well, about eleven weeks."
Chiaki brightened up, "This is fantastic, you and I are close. Oh by the way, I'm Chiaki Yoshino." she said, holding her hand out which Ritsu shook, "Ritsu Onodera. I can't believe Hatori never talked about you. Well done Hatori." she said turning to the tall man who blushed lightly at the implication.
Chiaki ignored his blush, "This came as a surprise for us." she said, touching her belly, "So where's your baby daddy, is he here?" she asked without thinking.
That dark aura hung over Ritsu as she fell silent at that question, making Chiaki and Hatori sweatdrop while Ichiru patted her back reassuringly, "It's kinda a long story." she said for Ritsu who nodded silently.
Hatori placed a hand under his chin, "Takano-san doesn't know, does he?" he guessed, making Ritsu shoot a glance at him, "How did you know?"
"You just told me." Hatori said, knowing that he got her.
Ritsu's head fell as she looked down, "Damn it." she cursed feeling foolish for being tricked so easily.
Ichiru decided to break the atmosphere, "Perhaps we could discuss this over lunch." she offered, trying to fan away that dark cloud.
All four of them sat in the food court with Chiaki and Hatori together on one side while Ichiru and Ritsu sat on the other. Each of them eating the food they paid for with their shopping bags by their feet.
"How long have you known?" Hatori asked, continuing the conversation from the maternity store.
"Couple of weeks now." Ritsu answered, sipping her soda through a straw.
"And you kept this from the father of your child. You realize you're gonna get in trouble since he's gonna be the last to hear about it." Hatori stated, eating a rice ball.
"Yes, I know, I'm screwed." Ritsu said, feeling like she's going through the same song and dance.
"More ways than one." Chiaki commented with a smile, making Ritsu glare at her, "Not helping." she said, a tic mark forming as Chiaki giggled in response.
Ichiru ignored their banter, "I know that you've heard this about hundred times already Ri-chan, but he will find out eventually. He has been keeping his eye on you constantly." she said, making Ritsu look down with a sigh.
"Yes, I know that, I just...don't know how to tell him. I don't want to give him an opportunity to break my heart again." Ritsu said, feeling insecure and uncertain about the future this child will bring.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure he won't." Hatori said, making everyone turn to him in surprise, "If he can't accept having a baby in his life, then that's his loss. Having a baby means starting something that is new, it is another chapter to the story that no one can edit."
By the time he finished, all the girls at the table stared at him in surprise until Ichiru said, "Chiaki, don't you ever let him go. You can't find another man with a wistful and sensitive side."
Chiaki blushed as she took Hatori's hand that was under the table, "Don't worry, I don't plan to." she said, making Hatori smile as she leaned into him.
Ichiru whispered to Ritsu, "Is it just me, or are there tiny hearts flying off of them?"
"I think they put something in our sodas." Ritsu said, wondering about the same thing.
"Ri-chan, Hatori-san?" a voice made all four of the turn to see Kisa and a taller, princely looking young man holding hands with her while his other hand held a tray of food.
Ritsu's eyes widened when she recognized her coworker and asked, "Kisa-san, not that I'm unhappy to see you, but what are you doing here?"
Kisa was about to answer, but Yukina beat her to it, "We're on a date right now." he said, holding her hand tighter, making her blush and nod.
"You know, you girls have a knack for snagging the good looking and sensitive ones. Good job." Ichiru said, applauding them and making all the girls blush.
Kisa caught sight of the orange-brown haired woman and immediately recognized her, "Wait a second, you're that woman that stopped by this afternoon." Kisa said walking up to Ichiru.
Ichiru blinked, not recognizing this girl as she continued, "You stepped over me to hand in that manuscript, remember?"
Ichiru snapped her fingers when it all clicked, "Oh yeah, you were the dead body I stepped over-that came out wrong, sorry." she apologized, sweat dropping as everyone laughed, including Kisa.
Kisa waved it off, "That's fine. We were nearing the end of our cycle, so it's understandable." she laughed a bit more when she remembered what Ichiru did to Takano, "By the way, that prank you pulled on Takano-san was absolute gold, he was pissed." she said as Yukina pulled two more chairs and another table to join the rest before they sat down with their lunch.
"Wait, what prank?" Ritsu and Hatori asked, (Note: Hatori didn't come in that afternoon) turning to face the doctor who had a proud grin on her face, "Oh, just a little something that I was saving for one of my coworkers at the hospital. But, I figured since he pissed me off the first few seconds of meeting me, I'd pay him back." Ichiru said, that afternoon still fresh in her head as she smiled.
Everyone stared at Ichiru before Hatori asked again, "What was the prank exactly?"
"Well..." Ichiru began before pulling out a pen and sticky note from her purse and started writing. Once she was done, she gave it to Kisa who read it before handing it to Yukina with a snicker. Yukina gave it to Hatori, who gave it to Chiaki until it was finally passed to Ritsu who watched their facial expression change from serious/curious to smiling and laughing. Ritsu read the note and swore she almost pulled something when she doubled over in laughter which was joined by the others.
The note said: I'm. Sofa. King. Stew. Ped. = I'm so fucking stupid.
"Oh my god! You really made him say that out loud?" Ritsu laughed, banging her hand on the table, trying but failing to calm her laughter down.
Ichiru laughed as she wiped the tears that were coming out of her eyes, "It was something I came up with while I was in high school."
Chiaki had to hold onto Hatori as she continued to laugh, "Holy shit, please grant me permission to use that in my stories." she asked, feeling a little inspired to draw something like this in her manga.
"By all means." Ichiru said as her laughter started to die down before she turned to Kisa who was calming down a bit, "Another thing, Kisa, was it?" Kisa nodded, "Hatori here knows about Ritsu's condition." Ichiru informed, making Kisa's eyes turn to Hatori who nodded before she asked, "What else is new?"
Chiaki nudged Hatori, silently telling him to tell his coworker the news, "Okay, well, we're pregnant as well." he said, with a hint of pride as Kisa squealed, "Congratulations." she said before jumping out of her seat to hug both Hatori and Chiaki who smiled as Yukina nodded and smiled in their direction.
Kisa went back to her seat, still smiling as Yukina wrapped an arm around her, "This is amazing, two of our editors are going to be parents. I'm gonna be a little lonely now." she said, pouting a little until Yukina kissed her cheek, making her blush and squeal at the act.
"Oh you're not gonna be lonely, which reminds me; is everyone here free on Sunday?" Ichiru asked, as everyone either shrugged, nodded or said not sure. "This Sunday, I propose that all of us, at this table, go to the Karaoke/Sushi Bar. Before you all ask why, it is so that Chiaki and Hatori here can celebrate their pregnancy with music, dancing and food." she turned to Kisa, "Also, as thanks for keeping Ritsu's secret, for which we owe you with quality food...and special time with Prince Charming over here." she said, making Kisa blush and Yukina smile.
Yukina pulled his girlfriend closer, "I think it's a great idea, I don't work on Sundays and I always wanted to take you out dancing." he said, flashing his smile at a flustered Kisa who looked down shyly before saying, "I guess I can clear my schedule."
Ichiru pointed at the two of them, "Make sure you never let him outta your sight on Sunday." she warned before turning her attention on Hatori and Chiaki, "What about you two?"
Hatori hummed with a contemplative look on his face while Chiaki grabbed his arm, "Please, Tori? It might be fun, you and I have not gone out in a while and I don't always get a chance to have any girl time and I want to celebrate." she said, looking up at him with puppy eyes.
Hatori's eyes twitched as he tried to hold himself against her 'puppy-eye-attack', "We...probably have work that night." he said uncertainly.
Chiaki threw her arms around him and got close to his face from the side, increasing her 'puppy eyes', "Oh, c'mon Tori." she pleaded like a little girl wanting a toy.
"Yeah, c'mon Tori." Ritsu, Ichiru and Kisa echoed in the same manner, ganging up on him.
Yukina smiled and joined, "Yeah, c'mon Tori, you're outnumbered five to one here."
Hatori stared at everyone who ganged up on him before giving in, "Okay, just tell me when we should be there so that I can clear my schedule." he said, making Chiaki squeal and gave him kisses on the cheek before she and the rest of the girls high fived each other while Yukina clapped Hatori on the back.
"Sunday 6pm. You each have your car, right?" Ichiru asked, while Yukina said his was in the shop, but Hatori said that he and Chiaki can pick them up.
After exchanging contact numbers with each other, they all went their separate ways in their respective pairs.
Ichiru carried the bags to the car with Ritsu beside her, both of them continued to talk and laugh. Very soon, they were driving to Ritsu's apartment. Along the way, Ritsu dozed off a little until Ichiru woke her up the moment they arrived.
In the elevator, the two women stood side by side with Ritsu's bags around them as they traveled to the twelfth floor of the apartment building. Ritsu yawned, feeling tired from the whole day, despite it being being 7pm, "Sleepy?" Ichiru asked, taking note of Ritsu's yawn.
"A little?" Ritsu answered, smiling tiredly as the elevator reached her floor. They grabbed the shopping bags and walked towards Ritsu's apartment door. As soon as Ritsu opened the door, they dropped the bags in Ritsu's room where they organized and folded the clothes on the bed.
"I'm really sorry about the mess. I don't usually get enough time to clean up." Ritsu said in embarrassment as Ichiru stared at the piles of clothes strewn across the floor.
"Oh, don't be sorry. In fact, I can help you clean the place sometime this week when I'm free." Ichiru said, not really bothered by the mess, "You must have a clean and well organized environment for when you have a baby, but we'll get around to that by November." she said folding another onesie, "In the meantime, you must focus on getting plenty of rest. If you have to get up early in the morning, I can drop you off at work, so don't run to the subway. Also, if you must intake caffeine at work, limit your coffee to at least two mugs per day." she added, going into doctor mode as Ritsu absorbed her instructions.
Ritsu nodded as she listed off what Ichiru said, "Get a lot of sleep, keep your apartment clean and have only two mugs of coffee per day. Is that right?" she said as she placed all her maternity clothes in a drawer.
"Precisely." Ichiru said as she handed the onesies to Ritsu who placed them beside her maternity clothes in the drawer, "When do you usually go to work in the morning?" Ichiru asked, wanting to know when she should pick her up and take her to work.
"I'm out of my apartment at around 8 in the morning." Ritsu said, taking a seat on her bed as a wave of fatigue came over her, "If it's not too much trouble, I would like to go to sleep now." she said, looking at Ichiru apologetically.
Ichiru nodded as she helped Ritsu into bed, "Not at all, just get plenty of sleep. I'll pick you up in the morning." she said as she pulled the covers over Ritsu who smiled and nodded before falling asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
Ichiru quietly slipped out of Ritsu's apartment, making sure not to disturb her as she silently closed the apartment door. Just as she was walking away from Ritsu's apartment, the elevator doors dinged and out stepped Masamune who was surprised to see Ichiru here.
Ichiru nodded to him in acknowledgment, "Good evening." she said as she tried to walk passed Masamune, but his voice stopped her, "Is Ritsu alright?" he asked, not turning around to look at Ichiru.
Ichiru turned her head to Masamune's back, "She just fell asleep, if you wish to talk to her about something, wait until she comes to work." she answered in a business-like tone.
Masamune stayed silent for a moment, "I see, thank you. Have a good evening." he said before making his way to his apartment.
"Just so we're clear, if you ever hurt Ritsu in any shape or form...I promise I will kill you." Ichiru said threateningly as she stepped into the elevator.
Masamune's eyes widened before he turned to face Ichiru's expressionless eyes as the elevator doors closed, taking Ichiru back down to the parking garage.
Masamune stood in front of his door before facing Ritsu's, 'Ritsu, what did you tell her?' was what came to his mind before entering his apartment, thoughts of Ritsu still swimming in his mind.
Longest chapter yet. I didn't know how else to end this, sorry. But I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and if you would be so kind as to leave me a review. We are getting closer to the big reveal, just be patient a little longer. You'll be getting more Masamune/Ritsu time in the next chapter.
Until next chapter. Thank you.