The morning of Shizuru's discharge was cold and windy, the skies heavy with the promise of rain. She was alone in her room, attempting to get dressed without the assistance of the nurses. She had gotten her pants on successfully, but her shirt was proving to be quite difficult. Her back protested with even the slightest movements, and the lingering ache from her C-section.
She traced her fingers along the vertical incision above her pelvis. It was only about four inches long, and about an inch wide, starting just below her pubic hairline. Its incision intersected with her tattoo, permanently scarring the hydra's serpentine body. A knock sounded on the door, startling her out of her trance, and she slowly brought her conflicted eyes to it.
Natsuki stuck her head in, her eyebrows furrowed together in concern. "Are you okay?"
Shizuru quickly turned her body around so that her back would be facing the dark-haired woman, shielding her scar from her wandering eyes. "I am fine." She replied, returning her attention to the task at hand. She sucked in a breath as she stuck her arms through the hoodie's sleeves and pulled it over her head.
She paused momentarily as the pain and soreness came back full force, almost flinching when cool fingertips met her heated skin as they pulled the hoodie down from its suspension upon her shoulders. Natsuki gently pulled her back against her chest, encasing her with her slightly taller and sturdier frame. She wrapped her arms around Shizuru's neck from behind, setting her chin on top of her tussled golden locks.
It wasn't an intimate gesture, but one of reassurance.
"What troubles you, my love?" Natsuki's gentle alto-tones caressed her ear and she leaned back into her embrace, feeling as though she could break down any second.
"I…" She paused uncertainly, closing her eyes to prevent the onslaught of tears threatening to push through. "I will tell you once we are home." She decided.
Natsuki was about to protest, but upon seeing the deeply conflicted expression on Shizuru's lovely features, decided against it. She simply nodded her head in acceptance and tugged on Shizuru's hand, eager to leave the sterile and grave atmosphere of the hospital. Her discharge papers had already been taken care of, and Namiko had been given the all-clear to make the journey home with her family.
She was currently sleeping in her eldest sister's gentle embrace, nestled in the crook of her elbow, her eyelashes fluttering as she dreamed. Kaiya's fingers were locked within her own as she sat near her older sister, leaning her head on her shoulder as they watched the precious child sleep.
They smiled warmly as their parents approached them and got ones in return, although, one of them more forced than the other. Keira's perceptive nature allowed her to know such a thing, but she told herself it was only due to her mother's fatigue.
"You guys ready? I'm starving." Natsuki announced as she slipped her hand into Shizuru's.
After spying a rather tired looking Dr. K. by the checkout desk and thanking her profusely, the family made their way outside and into the parking lot, where a glossy black Mercedes Benz was parked conveniently in the first few spaces. Natsuki made a quick note to remind herself to thank Skye for the delivery of the vehicle.
The keys were in a hidden compartment below the driver's side door Natsuki had installed on all of her personal vehicles. She unlocked all the doors and helped her wife get situated before jogging over to the other side and getting in. She made another note to thank her crewmates for getting a car-seat for their newest member.
She kept a close eye on her wife during the drive home, stopping by a traditional Japanese cuisine place for some takeout. She parked the Benz in their garage and threw her own jacket around her wife's shoulders when the temperature took another drastic drop. The doorman whispered a soft 'congrats' as he opened the door and peered into Kaiya's arms.
The ride to the penthouse was filled with constant chatter, mostly from the girls while their parents put in their two-cents every now and again. Shizuru leaned heavily against her side, as if she were too weak to stand on her own. Upon entering the penthouse suite, the girls made a beeline for the nursery. Natsuki set the food down on the counter and began making plates.
She placed two in the microwave for the girls and set the other two on the kitchen table. Shizuru washed her hands and sat at the very end, thanking Natsuki quietly when she set pushed the plate towards her. Natsuki dug in eagerly while she muttered a quick prayer.
Natsuki watched her inconspicuously out of the corner of her eye. Shizuru wasn't so much eating as she was pushing the food around idly with her chopsticks, and after a while she excused herself and trudged slowly up the stairs. Natsuki sighed and abandoned her own plate, hot in pursuit of the honey-haired woman.
She pushed her hair back from her face as she slowly pushed the cracked door open. Shizuru was standing in the middle of the room, head bowed, and seemingly deep in thought.
"Shizuru," Natsuki whispered, her eyes widening in shock when she realized her wife was sobbing quietly. Shizuru clutched her shoulders and she burying her face in the crook of a pale neck. Natsuki's hands immediately went to her fleshy hips. "What's wrong?" She asked, worry creeping into her voice.
She didn't reply for a while, only staining her wife's shirt with her tears. "Natsuki…" She croaked.
She dragged Natsuki's hands down to her abdomen and whispered brokenly, "I t-thought… I thought I lost her, Natsuki. I could feel her suffocating... inside me…" Horror crept into her voice.
"S-she couldn't breathe, Natsuki. I could f-feel her fear, her panic. S-she almost- I almost…" She broke down again, her sobs growing in volume until she was utterly incoherent. Natsuki's eye suddenly widened in realization.
That's why she's been acting so strangely, and why she can barely look at Namiko, Natsuki thought as she rubbed her wife's back. She's blaming herself for what happened to her. I can't imagine what she must be feeling inside, knowing our child could have died in her womb.
"Shizuru." Natsuki began softly, gently pushing against her wife's shoulders and looking into directly into her blood-shot, pain-filled eyes. "None of this is your fault. Namiko is perfectly fine. She's just a few doors down, being smothered with affection by her sisters, and they probably won't even sleep tonight.
I know this must be hard for you, hell, it was hard for me too, for all of us. Seeing you in such agony, and lying in that hospital bed, hooked up to countless little machines, was scary. I didn't know what to think…" She paused, swallowing hard. "I thought I was going to lose my wife and child that day. But I didn't. You're both here right now, alive and well."
She kissed the back of Shizuru's clammy hand before entangling their fingers together and pressing their foreheads against one another. She felt Shizuru's arms wrap around her torso, squeezing with all of the strength her tired body could muster up. "Do you remember what I told you back when we were teenagers?"
Shizuru giggled softly as she kissed Natsuki's delicate jaw-line. "That you would never love another girl so long as you had me. And the only exception would be the girl that would call me 'mommy.'"
"And I meant it, every single word. I love you all more than anything in this world." Natsuki whispered, feeling herself getting choked up.
Shizuru whispered back a sentimental 'I love you too' before burying her face into her lover's chest and enjoying the moment of tenderness between them.
SMOKE/MIRRORS
"Guess what?" A low voice filled with childish glee reverberated throughout the spacious attic as its owner crossed his legs comfortably and leaned back in his chair.
She looked up from the pictures she was previously studying intensely, and removed her hand from inside her underwear, wiping the wetness coating them on the fabric of her jeans. Her features were twisted in annoyance upon being interrupted. "What the fuck do you want, Nagi? Can't you see I'm busy?"
The man tilted his head to the side, his white hair falling into his pale eyes. His thin lips were quirked into a sleazy smile. "Miss Viola-Kruger has had her baby." He emphasized the second part of the name just to invoke a violent reaction from the woman, and to his pleasure, it did.
She snarled furiously, throwing the table onto its side as she shot up, her eyes alight with murderous fury.
"Such a cute little thing too. Looks just like her mother, but with hair as dark and luscious as her father's. Not the horrid teal color you insist on dyeing yours." Nagi continued. "Honestly Miss Marguerite, you've no sense of fashion. I can see why Miss Viola-Kruger wouldn't so much as glance in your direction." He gestured to his expensive Armani suit and platinum dyed hair.
Tomoe screeched madly, her hands tugging on her hair furiously. Tears of outrage and frustration poured down her hollowed cheeks. She drove herself mad with her obsession, and it showed on her harsh features. Her lips were thinning and cracked, chapped beyond repair. Her form was more skeletal than slender, and her gaze was haunted and delirious.
The other men in the room cringed at the sound of their boss's raspy shrieks.
Tomoe sniffled. It should be my baby that she's pregnant with! It should be my baby that she births! She belongs to ME. Fucking Kruger, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK YOU.
"Even after all you've done to her, she's still better than you." Nagi's sweet voice said as he approached one of Tomoe's men and fixed his tie. "Though, killing the girl's father was rather unnecessary, don't you think?"
"I told Kruger to stay away from my beloved, and she didn't listen. Daddy Dearest had just been simply at the wrong place at the right time." Tomoe spat viciously as she approached him, and he quickly stepped out of the way from the onslaught of liquids spewing from her mouth. "She underestimated me, and Regan payed the ultimate price."
She didn't mention that she had already plan to… dispose of the eldest Kruger. The woman had gone back over an agreement the two had made a few years prior to her demise. Though, the situation with the younger Kruger and her beloved Shizuru had spurred her intentions on much quicker than originally planned.
Nagi shrugged as he finished his inspection of the men. He hated mused clothing. He had rather liked Regan. She had been a snarky, wise-ass, sarcastic individual with a very pretty face and an admirable fashion sense, unlike Tomoe.
"Nonsense. You're just… what do the kids call it these days…? A hater? That's it. You're just a hater." Nagi said. "Its utterly insane how you use daddy's gang to try and steal a married mother from her family with intentions of making her yours. 'Tis pathetic."
Oh, how Tomoe wished she could put a bullet between the little man's eyes. But alas, he was too important. His superior intelligence and not to mention his title as her own father's 'right hand man' made him practically untouchable.
She opted to throw a chair at him, which he dodged easily and winced at the poor sucker who it had hit instead. He dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes, and at the snap of her fingers he was carried away by two men guarding the door. He was easily replaced with another faceless man in a suit.
Then, suddenly, an idea popped into her head, and a cruel smirk was plastered on her face. She turned to Nagi, who was checking his appearance in the reflection of a henchman's shades.
She looked at the pictures on the ground.
Such a lovely family… It would be a shame if…. something were to… happen to them. She thought maliciously. She'll be so devastated, she'll crawl into my arms instantly. Then I will wipe away her tears and tell her all is not lost, then we will start our own family…
"ZERO!" She screeched.
Moments later, a figure clambered into the dusty attic, posture lazy and bored. It was impossible to tell the gender of the figure with their baggy clothes, dark hoodie, and signature Ski-mask they refused to take off. Tomoe smirked as she looked to one of her finest killers.
"I have a job for you."
SMOKE/MIRRORS
Well, fuck.
Chapter song, Drop the World- Lil Wayne, Eminem.