Author's Note:
Hello, everyone!! I am dreadfully sorry for not updating. I decided to resume the fic because I am starting to receive death threats again. Truthfully, though, I don't know how I'm about to end the fic, but one thing's for certain: it won't happen soon. I'm afraid the Secret Society of PersonaxMikan Fan Club shall continue whether we like it or not.
This chapter is dedicated to Baby and Baby II.
Eager fingers started to slip under her skirt, Hotaru immediately turned cold. All passion had left her. Her violet eyes lost its luster. Without second thought, she slapped her boyfriend's hand away.
The boy had difficulty catching up. His mouth hanging, he pleaded, "But, Ho-chan...! I..."
"No!" Hotaru said hardly, fixing her blouse and skirt. Make out sessions were becoming a turn-off. Decidedly, she said, "I am not going to get pregnant."
"But I was only going to use my…"
"NO!" With that she left with a stomp. Yes. She was that paranoid.
Mikan sat alone on a clearing in the forest, where she was sure she would not lose her way back to the dormitories. The day was bright and sunny, a new one for the rainy season. The grass was crisp and green today, too. She stared at the pond in front of her. Weeks ago, she sat in the same exact spot, and it was then that she first fell victim to her lover. It was nice to be here to remember, she thought. She closed her eyes a second, feeling a little light-headed. Her moods were too unpredictable lately and she had to take a breather once in a while.
In quiet moments like these, she attempts to listen to the life growing inside of her. She wondered if she could hear anything, but surely, she could not. When she was alone, she was also tempted to lift her blouse and examine her belly, wondering if the swelling would start soon. It was fun, too, knowing that she was never really alone. Her little baby (aka bibi-chan) was inside of her wherever she went. A little Persona was growing inside her and she was ecstatic.
Her heart sped up as she felt a tug on her head. A smile on her face, she opened her eyes to see the father of her child looking down at her through his mask.
"Where are your friends?" he inquired, twirling the end of her pigtail around his forefinger. Lately, he had been insistent that she never be left to herself. Take the smart girl with you, he said the before they parted the other day.
As he squatted behind her, pulling her hair, she wanted so desperately to jump on him (as always). To rub her palms on his bicep would be enough warmth to keep her happy through the day. "I'm giving her some alone time with Ruka-pyon." She unconsciously placed a hand on her belly. "Are you leaving?"
Persona did not answer.
Mikan huffed. "Natsume is leaving again; I'm such an idiot for asking." She stared at the stillness of the pond.
"Tomorrow morning, ready yourself. I'll be taking you out of the Academy."
This was strange, Mikan thought with a frown. He never insisted on that before. Was he going to run away with her, finally? She moaned in surprise when he pushed a tail aside and started to suckle on her skin. "Ah…"
"For the little one," he said, and continued his loving assault on her neck.
"Oh… hahaha…!" Mikan giggled when he started to lick the mark he left on her skin. A hickey, she thought to herself, and tried to push him away from her, though she really wanted to keep him by her side. She grinned at him with all the happiness she could muster. They were going to a doctor tomorrow for their baby. "Please," she whispered, "kiss me goodbye?"
Like a gentleman taking his hat off to give respect, Persona slid his mask from his eyes and kissed her full on the lips. Locking gazes for a while, he smirked at her and put the mask back on. "I like it when you beg."
Blushing hard, she whacked his shoulder. "Just don't die, ok?" They both knew he wasn't an easy kill and yet, they both knew how much she meant it.
"Never," he replied, reaching over to her, and pulled a pigtail loose of its clip, successfully hiding the love mark he made. "Tomorrow morning then."
"Tomorrow," she agreed, and he was gone.
Narumi caught sight of Mikan from afar. He just finished having his morning exercise, and decided to walk around when he spotted her near the pond. Feeling suspicious, he sneaked behind a rather large bush and waited. His instincts were telling him that if he waited long enough, he'd get lucky to spot a certain happening. Mikan has been different lately, he noticed.
He observed that the area surrounding her was awfully quiet. The air was thick with secrets. One of her pigtails was loose. Sitting there alone, you would think she was brooding, but considering the glitter in her eyes, it was certain that she was actually happy just sitting there. Maybe he should go to her and entertain her?
"Mikan, there you are."
Narumi crouched lower. It was good he wore his green exercise suit. He peered through the leaves to see Hotaru approaching. Hmm, he wondered, Ruka was not with her.
"Are you alright?" Hotaru asked the auburn-headed girl. "Not feeling sick or anything?"
Why would she be? Narumi wondered. Mikan did not look sick. But she had that certain countenance about her. He frowned. Looking at their profiles, he could tell that they shared a secret indeed. What were they hiding? Well, thinking about it, it was not really impossible. Mikan was quite the rebel if she put her mind to it. And Persona, he thought automatically after thinking of Mikan. Goodness, he could not even begin to ponder on the man's ability to be responsible of such mischief… Hotaru's voice broke his thoughts.
"So… I thought of inventing this device for you," Hotaru said, handing a little koala stuffed toy to her friend. "It should alert you if anyone is eavesdropping on you. It's called the Koala Cop, invention number 621!"
Mikan started to giggle. "How wonderful!" she happily exclaimed, and squeezed the Cop to her chest.
Narumi frowned, analyzing what Hotaru just said. Boy, the girl surely came up with the most brilliant inventions…
"Toot-a-toot! A blondie's on the loose! Toot-a-toot! Watching over you!" the Koala Cop sang, its nose blinking a red light.
Narumi's eyes widened and he fell back on his butt. Did the Koala just call him a 'blondie on the loose'?! He wanted to run, but he felt paralyzed by the palpitations inside his chest. He was going to get caught. Well, he could say that he happened to love lounging behind bushes after his exercise… Getting more intact with nature, he would say...
"Now if you put it on the ground, it would crawl towards the spy," Hotaru told Mikan. "Now… let's see who the rotten bastard is."
The fire in the Imai's eyes made him choke on his own saliva. Narumi was about to come clean and say that he was looking for more tea-time company when suddenly, another voice spoke up.
"Ho-chan!" Ruka's voice came from behind him. "Are you still mad? I've searched high and low for you, my dearest!"
"You deserve it!"
Both Narumi and Mikan rolled their eyes as a little love quarrel transpired between them.
Before the Koala Cop could make its dutiful arrest, Narumi had managed to crawl away from his hiding place. Wiping a sweat from his brow, he realized that yes, something was going on. Surely, by now, Mikan and Persona have reconciled. And, he decided, remembering the happiness in Mikan's eyes, he will let it pass. For now. As long as it was kept a secret and there was nothing nasty going on… Unless she was pregnant…
Narumi paused mid-crawl. Shaking his head in disbelief, he resumed his escape. "Nah."
Much later, during the witching hour, when all unintentional eavesdroppers have been caught except for Narumi...
Exhausted, Natsume dragged his limbs back to his room, that he decided to switch courses. Instead of heading back to his quarters, he stealthily made his way towards the girls' dormitories. He found Mikan's bed extremely comfortable. He did say he would try to avoid going to her room, but he didn't promise. Besides, it's fun to irk her. It has always been amusing to tease her. Mikan was always cute when angry and her cuteness was definite comfort food to his soul. At least, when he was with her, he could forget all the stress that the Academy was bombarding him with.
It was Sunday today, which meant that there were no classes. Everyone had the opportunity to sleep late. And that meant he could catch Mikan asleep. He smiled to himself as he secretly admitted that he was someone who actually wanted to wake up with someone in bed. He was looking forward to it, being with someone like that. But, sadly, for as long as he was in the Academy, those kind of dreams were too far-fetched. But Mikan was enough to compensate for that.
As he pushed her window open, he felt a certain amount of release as he took in the scent of her room. He tumbled on her bed, groaning tiredly. "Ah… Mikan." As he put his arm around her, and couldn't believe how soft she was, he fell asleep with a snore.
"I'm like a bird!" Mikan happily cooed as she stretched her arms wide as she was settled on Persona's back in a piggyback ride. Before she readied herself for another of his high jumps, she realized that they came to a complete stop. "Eh?"
"If you want to die that much, all you have to do is ask."
"Huh?"
Persona harshly tugged her arms around his neck. "Don't let go. Please."
Oh, her darling was concerned of her safety! Mikan snuggled close to him at once, locking her arms around him. Kissing his nape, she smiled. "I love it when you beg," she whispered.
When Mikan came to, she was sitting alone on a cot in a pink-colored room. She squinted at the unusual surroundings and after noticing all the baby paraphernalia around, she noticed that she was in an obi-gyne's clinic. She touched her belly at once. "Ne, bibi-chan. We're getting a check-up with your inakamono-touchan."
"Who's the clown?" Sergio asked as he entered the room, his black suit and mask nowhere in sight. He was wearing his usual hot guy attire –a simple white long-sleeved shirt that was open on the collar, and black slacks with slippers. He looked so normal he was oozing with sex appeal.
"You are!" Mikan exclaimed with a bright smile. Before she motioned to hop down from the cot she sat on, Sergio put his hands on her knees as he stood in front of her, blocking her way. "So that when you're wearing your scary make-up, bibi-chan wouldn't think you're a weirdo. Don't you think it's a brilliant idea?"
"Ah… so the young mother is awake!"
Startled, Mikan took hold of Sergio's wrists in surprise that someone caught them together. She felt awkward suddenly, that she was here in this situation. Reality seemed to come down to her like a ton. And this was the first time she was out with Sergio as his girlfriend or wife (hihi, the mental giggle erupts) in front of someone else. They couldn't exactly hide who they were every time, could they? She felt her cheeks aflame, so she hid herself behind Sergio's chest. She didn't know why, but everything she was feeling was making her ashamed and sad. She was barely 17 and pregnant with her teacher's child. She was with no friends. She was away from the Academy. And her grandfather was watching all of these things from afar. In a matter of seconds, she felt the tears brimming on her eyes. The doctor called her 'mother', too…
"Mikan?" Sergio tried to get her attention, but she had pulled the front of his shirt to cover her face. He was now placed between her legs as he stood up, and he was unable to move. He smoothed her hair, unable to think of anything else to do.
"Ooh!" the doctor exclaimed, raising his hands in defense. "I'm sorry to have scared your pretty wife, Sergio-san."
"Ah…" was all Sergio could say. He looked down at Mikan. "Pigtails. This is Doctor Yuki." He pulled her close and whispered to her ear, "He's a friend." He shot her a serious look that clearly said, He used to work for the Academy… but he doesn't know that. He looked her in the eyes and untangled Mikan's hold on him.
Mikan took time to glance at the bubbly doctor on the other side of the room. As she stared at him, she could not help but feel that he looked, or rather, felt familiar. "Good day," she greeted politely. She turned to Persona and asked, "I… am your wife, inakamono-anata?"
For the mean time, Sergio ignored her and instead gave his moody companion a squeeze on the knee. He turned to the doctor. "What do we have to do? I am new to this as she is."
"Ano… remember, Sergio-san, you must think that you are pregnant too!" Doctor Yuki encouraged both of them. "Now first of all…"
As Mikan listened intently to the doctor, she unconsciously put Persona's hand on her stomach and just kept it there. He did not seem to mind. But she was shocked, indeed. Sure, she was not really ready to be a mother… but all the thoughts that went to her head a minute ago were still ringing in her ears. She did not know why she was feeling this way. Just yesterday, she was happy to be with child. Now… all she could think about was losing her life. Unknown to her, the tears had fallen on her cheeks.
"Oh…!" the doctor said, and quickly went to her side. Placing a comforting hand on her back, he smiled at her. "Don't be afraid to face your pregnancy, young lady. You will be a wonderful mother, I could tell. And your husband is here to be with you always."
Somehow, Doctor Yuki's touch seemed to calm her dow, add to that Persona's hand rubbing warmth on her belly. She sniffed audibly. She had the oddest craving for a mango torte. "Thank you, Doctor Yuki."
Persona brought her to a cozy suite after that. He probably made an early reservation because they managed to check in without the hassle. Other than that, Mikan also noticed that the sun had just risen. "Oh my… you must have scared Doctor Yuki to give us a check-up this early, haven't you?" She suppressed a shiver that run through her.
Sergio gave her a smirk. "There is a thing such as being civil. Like I told you, we are acquaintances. He thinks I am an old friend. I keep my eye on him now and then to make sure he's alright." He placed Mikan's bag on the foot of their bed.
"Sergio…?"
"Yes?" Persona asked as he took out Mikan's scarf and proceeded to put it around her neck. He seemed like a doting mother hen, but both of them were occupied with their own thoughts to notice. He tucked the knot of the scarf against her chest.
"I'm terrified of bibi-chan…" Mikan said, staring at the scarf. "I don't think I can do this. I don't know why I'm here. I'm so scared. I feel like I'm falling. I don't know if I can do anything right… and what about when bibi-chan grows up? What if…"
"I don't know what the future holds," Persona hushed her as he brought her close to himself, and wrapped his arms around her. "You don't have to worry about anything. All you have to do is to be yourself. When… the little one is bigger, we will face it then, ok?" He kissed the top of her head. "I have never been a father nor husband either."
Mikan nodded. "We can do this together, right… inakamono-anata?"
"You are the clown…" he replied. "Of course we can."
Person was not lying to her. He did not feel the need to do so. When they entered this predicament, it was established that this was a partnership of some sort. Their characters were helpful, after all; she had ants on her pants and he was the 'King of Spook' as she put it. As much as he should react like the common male and be afraid of the responsibilities that came with fatherhood, he was not. For the record, he was actually looking forward to it.
Everyday, he lives for an adventure. No wonder he accepts the Academy's missions with open arms. Being a lover proved to be such an unpredictable and satisfying experience, his birthed lusts aside. Being a father… now that he could not explain the anticipation he felt. How was someone like him, the beholder of the Alice known as the Mark of Death, be capable of creating life?
He was not aspiring to be normal, nor was he just trying to please Mikan in this whole process. Instead, it was adding much to his person, his ego, his strengths. He also cherished the hurt of it all. At this point in time, he was becoming a man… Staring at Mikan, the enchantress of his being, he found the reasons to find life worth living; they, his mother and unborn child, were giving him something to die for.
It was probably his masochistic side, because damn, he felt good.
AN: Please review to let me know you guys are still there! (: