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Disclaimer: I do not own City Hunter or its characters.
XYZ STRIKES AGAIN: DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THE KIDS!
[Chapter: 7]
"So Makimura Kaori..."
"No. Please"
"Marry me. Because I am sick of trying not to love you"
"No. Ryo, please"
"PAPA!", Hidemi shrieked.
Umibozu kept the kids away from the scene. He held them back against the truck despite of Hidemi's heart wrenching cries. Kaori fell upon her knees. She had seen it with her own eyes. The roof collapsed over Sumada and Ryo, who had been pulled down at the last second. Why was he, the spring of her life, lying dead under that pile of rubble now? He promised he wouldn't leave her alone. Ever! Why this? Why now?
"Ryo", she whimpered over and over.
In possibly the worst moment of her life, Kaori Saeba had lost all her strength. She reached a shaking hand towards the rubble but drew it back. The last thing she wanted to touch was Ryo's dead, cold body. He wasn't supposed to be cold. He wasn't supposed to be dead. He was supposed to be warm and goofy and ALIVE!
"Ryo"
Her head drooped and her tears fell. The thing she had dreaded most over the years had happened. And it had happened after she began taking heart in the power of their love. Why couldn't the gods take her instead of him? Why him?!
"I couldn't keep them safe, couldn't keep you safe. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. Ryo... please come back to me"
Her tears formed a wet stain over the dusty floor. She promised,
'I will do everything you say. I won't hit you or scold you. I will do whatever you want. But please come back to me. I can't go on without you. Ryo, please'
"Ah!"
She squeaked loud enough to quieten Hidemi and make Umibozu turn around. Her eyes had to stay on that space for a minute to process what they were looking at. The face she loved, the hands she loved and the smile she loved – of the man she loved – he was alive! Ryo's fingers wiggled on losing contact with Kaori's butt. He kept grinning,
"Aha. Bring my slice of heaven back here, Kaori-chan"
He wasn't dead. Her joy choked her throat.
"Papa!", Hidemi and Yukio came running to him.
Umibozu looked away and breathed in relief. Kaori hurled herself into his arms before the kids could reach them. She hugged him and wept. Ryo stroked the back of her head with his less bloody hand,
"Come on now. Do you really think I would die before I saw you in the new gift I bought for you?"
She looked up at his face. She had become used to his devil-may-care attitude but it somehow always surprised her. The man she loved was the toughest and most cheerful person she knew. How glad was she for that.
"Papa!"
Yukio hugged him from one side. Hidemi did so from behind. She tightened her little arms around her father's neck,
"Papa, I thought the bad man got you"
He leaned his head back and gave her a smile,
"How could anyone 'get' me as long as I have you guys by my side? And you, little magician..."
He seated Yukio on his lap as Hidemi climbed on his shoulder. Ryo said to his son,
"You got everyone out of the ropes, didn't you?"
He nodded and blushed. Ryo looked at Kaori and said,
"I think it's time we should employ Yukio Saeba at our defence school, don't you think?"
She just smiled.
Hidemi answered Dr. Yoshida,
"Nope"
He asked,
"Any nightmares?"
"Mm-mm", she shook her head.
He smiled,
"Very good. You are a brave one, Hidemi-chan"
"Like my Aniki?"
"Yes", he put the notepad away, "Like your Aniki"
Dr. Yoshida picked up the receiver from his table and told the nurse outside,
"Send them in"
She did as told. Within a minute, the rest of the Saebas walked into the room. Hidemi flung her legs back and forth on the easy-chair. Yukio stood by her and Kaori asked,
"What do you think, Doctor?"
Dr. Yoshida bid them to be seated and answered,
"As I have told you before, your kids are quite strong – both emotionally and physically. My hand still hurts"
Hidemi giggled at that. She had beaten him in an arm fight before their session began. Dr. Yoshida smiled at her and continued,
"Yukio-kun recovered sooner. Hidemi-chan doesn't remember much of the incident which is actually a good thing. She says that her nightmares have ceased completely. And since this was her last session, I declare your child trauma free"
"Thank you very much", Ryo said.
"It's my job", he said.
Kaori seemed most relieved. She too thanked Dr. Yoshida and asked,
"How is Mrs. Yoshida lately?"
He smiled,
"Reika is great. She is gone out of town with her sister to help on some case"
"Damn it", Ryo bust his fist on the table, "That sly Saeko didn't ask for my help because she knew I would ask her to pay all the dues!"
"What dues?", Dr. Yoshida asked.
Kaori elbowed Ryo in the ribs and muttered,
"Behave"
They then got up, thanked Dr. Yoshida again, and left his office with their kids.
Kaori was watching a movie on their bedroom TV. How strange was it that things hadn't changed much even after such a horrible incident. Her children had witnessed death, bloody fighting and almost everything no child should ever have to. Yet they survived that entire trauma. It was a miracle to her. Their inner courage which they had inherited from their parents and Dr. Yoshida's therapy sessions had kept Yukio and Hidemi from sinking into depression. Such disasters were nothing new to their parents, but the danger was twofold this time since the kids were involved. It made her cringe to think the worst that could have happened. Thankfully, Frankenstein's Monster was no more. Umibozu's timed bombs on the rooftop had saved the day and many lives. If the Monster had lived, he would have preyed on several others. What a sorry existence that boy had...
"I see that you are all dolled up for tonight's festivities"
Kaori smiled sideways and switched off the TV. Ryo missed her as he leapt on the bed, and landed among the pillows. Kaori sat herself at the dressing table and brushed her hair. She asked,
"Instead of humping like rabbits the moment we are alone together, can't we talk before bedtime? The way normal couples do?"
"What makes you think we are a normal couple?"
Kaori frowned at his reflection in the mirror.
Ryo sat on his side of the bed and watched Kaori walk back to him. She wore her usual night attire. Yellow pyjamas with dolphins on them. However hard it may seem, Ryo believed she still looked incredibly sexy in those loose sacks of clothes. He smiled as she sat on his lap, facing him and with her hands on his shoulders. She seemed tired,
"Today was Hidemi's last session"
"Shouldn't you be happy about that?", he put his hands on her hips.
Kaori said,
"I am happy. But I can't help thinking – is there any way we could have avoided this whole terrible... calamity from happening to our children?"
"Well, as much as I know, there is no way of changing things that have happened in the past or controlling everything that's going to happen in the future. We are just going to have to go with it"
"I wish it wasn't that way. I wish I could keep the kids out of all sorts of trouble"
"How will they learn to fend for themselves if they don't get in trouble every once in a while? Maybe not this kind of trouble, but little trouble. You know, like beating up boys who bother her"
"Uh huh", Kaori grinned.
Ryo said,
"Stealing panties of girls from the locker room. I wouldn't scold Yukio if he did that"
"He is never going to do that, I guarantee it. I am so glad our son is not like you"
"I am too", he laughed.
Kaori passed a hand through Ryo's hair,
"He does share some attributes with you"
"Like?"
"He is strong. He is smart. He is brave"
"You are all those things too"
She shrugged,
"I am not"
"You are brave. Think about it. Eight years ago, I begged you to get on top of me like this but you didn't. You thought it was too embarrassing. And now look what you are doing to the demon in my pants"
Kaori giggled,
"I was a bit shy. So what?"
"You still are shy"
"I am not"
"Are too"
"No, I am not!", Kaori argued.
Ryo said,
"You are. That's why, despite of sitting on my lap, you are still wearing clothes"
Kaori gave him a piercing look and unbuttoned her shirt. She removed her pants without shifting away from Ryo's lap. He looked unimpressed,
"Accept it, Kaori, you are a shy girl. You are still wearing your bra and panties"
Kaori answered that by putting a thumb under the left shoulder strap of her bra and slipping it off. Her fingers were on the hook behind when she realised. She said, her back still arched,
"Wait a second. You... Ryo!"
He was on top of her without a moment's delay. He threw his clothes up into the air and said,
"It's okay, Kaori-chan! I like being on top"
"You are such a manipulative jerk", she slapped his bare chest, "Ryo, wait!"
He held her hand away from his face and said,
"I am not going to wait. This is your usual trick to getting out of sexy time"
"I am in for sexy time but I just had a thought"
Ryo sighed and mumbled with tears in his eyes,
"Right when I was to get in action"
She chattered on without paying attention to him,
"I think we should go full out on our anniversary celebration this year. Let's invite all our friends! We will have cake, music, dinner and lots of fun. It will be refreshing for the kids too. Don't you think so?"
"Hm-hm", Ryo nodded, hovering on top of her.
"And I could..."
Kaori stopped talking when she felt cold in two particular regions. It was then that she noticed – Ryo had gotten rid of her innerwear while she was talking. Surprisingly, she wasn't even mad.
"How do you do that?", she asked.
"When things are not going my way, I use tricks", he kissed her.
She snickered at how cleverly he had initiated sex again. His knack for surprising her was one of the many things she liked about him.
They were deep in the throes of lust and love. Ryo's hands lingered along Kaori's thighs after their stay in more intimate places while she kissed his collarbones. He was firm, skilled, passionate and yet endowed with smooth skin. It was very sensitive in particular regions which Kaori took full advantage of. She put one leg around his waist, then another, clinging to him thus with her lower half above the bed. He shut his eyes tight when she traced the contours of his abs with her tongue and moved upwards so. She had barely touched his neck with her wicked teeth that Ryo pulled her down. Kaori gaped as she slumped on the bed and saw a familiar spark in Ryo's eyes. He leaned forward and kissed her torso down to the midriff. She urged him on with her hand which he laid aside and held her knees. He parted her lithesome legs slowly, his eyes staring into hers. Kaori whispered, impatient and eager,
"Don't tease me"
He smirked a little and moved his hips forward. Kaori yearned to raise herself and meet her impending climax. But Ryo held her thighs, keeping her in place. He leaned closer and closer. Kaori had to open her mouth to breathe. She couldn't take it anymore.
"Ryo..."
"Kaori..."
"MAMA! PAPA!"
"What the...", Kaori started at the loud knocking.
Ryo fell off the bed and grabbed his pants. Kaori put back on her pyjamas and looked at Ryo. He rose from behind the bed, revealing that he was clothed enough for his kids to see. Kaori answered the door and found the kids looking up at her. Hidemi spoke before anyone else could,
"Mama, there is a scary shadow outside our room! Aniki says it's Darcula!"
Kaori ignored the mispronunciation of Dracula and sighed,
"Yukio?"
"It really looks like Dracula, Mama! I don't want to sleep there!"
"Dracula is not real. Come on, I will show you"
"No, no, no, no!", Hidemi pushed her into the room.
Yukio closed the door to his parents' room from inside and said,
"Mama, can we please sleep here? Papa, can we sleep here?"
Kaori looked at Ryo, whose hands were hiding his enormous mokkori. He laughed,
"Aha-ha-ha. Uh, sure. Sure, you can sleep here. Just climb into the bed with Mama. I will be back in a minute. Excuse me"
He discreetly picked up Kaori's and his underwear from the floor and walked into the adjoining bathroom. She, on the other hand, watched helplessly as her kids made themselves comfortable in her bed.
Kaori climbed into the bed with a sigh and laid herself next to Hidemi. Ryo came back soon and climbed in beside Yukio on the right side. Mature and strong as they may be, the kids were still kids. Kaori and Ryo watched them both fall asleep in less than ten minutes. She put her arm around them both and straightened Yukio's sleeve. Ryo put his hand on Kaori's. She smiled and looked at him from across the bed. Ryo mouthed to her,
"Good night"
Kaori whispered,
"Good night"
The Saebas slept soundly until morning came. It was another fresh start for the City Hunter family.
A/N: This story was pretty short, wasn't it? If you are hoping to read more from me, don't fret. I have a sequel coming up. :P
My two main reasons for writing this Author's Note are these -
1. Shinichi Sumada – He was a test subject for some horrific human experiments. As you might have read in the manga, peculiar/fictional LSD's can turn a man into a monster. It should be no surprise that he lived despite of being hit by bullets. What was needed to kill him was something that pushed his insides out. The weighty roof did that well. Ryo and Umibozu could have kept beating him and shooting him; he wouldn't have quit. I hope that's clear.
2. 'M' rated fics – I have been asked more than once by eight people in total to write an M rated City Hunter fanfiction. In fact, I received a PM from a site user, part of which reads, "...shying away from love scenes makes you a shtick and a one-trick pony of a writer. Stop being a prude". That user blocked me after I replied to their delightful message. Hehe.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading erotica too. But I can't write it. I can write smut at the most, which you might have read in this chapter. That too, snippets of smut. Since I am not very enthusiastic about writing full-fledged sex scenes, I am going to pass on that for now. Maybe in the future, who knows? Point is – stop telling me I am a poor writer because I hesitate to write detailed love scenes. You are just making me laugh and stroking my gigantic ego. If you are so interested in reading porn, pay for it. I will recommend you some.
Other than that, thank you for the love! I will publish the one-shot sequel to this story on July 1. It will also serve as the last chain to this series of my City Hunter fanfiction. Till then, enjoy your weekend. :)
