Hey guys, I am so excited, I'm on Spring break! YAY! Ahem, okay so game plan, this arc if you can believe it will be ending after two more chapters. Then there will be a time skip to the world book tour, so if you guys have any last minute request for what you want to see Onodera and Takano do or where you want them to be, let me know soon, because I am starting to organize all of the requests I have received.
And I have to apologize because this chapter and the last one I had always planned on being 2 chapters but looking at them now, it might have been better to make them into one big long chapter, so that is my bad for dragging it out. Sorry :-S
I think that about covers it. So...
I do not own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi.
The playground was filled with raucous laughter as the children there gleefully ran about shouting and laughing with one another. The scene was the picture of merriment, a stark contrast to the pair sitting on the park bench nearby.
Onodera looked over back at An, who still appeared to be in exhausted shock. She looked as though she had just barely made it through the wars, but her mind was still on the battlefield, she was that demoralized.
The more Onodera tried to think of a way to comfort her, the more he realized that there was just no way he could. This was going to affect her in so many ways in the future. He had absolutely no way of knowing just what to do because he himself had never experienced something like this. And that was what made the situation all the more tragic, to say the least, the conversation with the doctor would be one he would never forget.
"Well, you're pregnant," the doctor stated, letting it hang in the air. Onodera looked over at An who was just as shocked as he. He hadn't even realized he had grabbed An's hand until he turned back to the doctor, who cleared his throat, "Kohinata san, you are pregnant, however… the pregnancy isn't viable."
"What!?" both An and Onodera cried together.
The doctor studied both of them as he chose his next words carefully, "Have either of you ever heard of an ectopic pregnancy?" When both An and Onodera shook there heads, the doctor continued. "An ectopic pregnancy is when the embryo attaches outside of the uterus. Yours is currently attached to your right fallopian tube."
"How… how can you be so certain," An asked quietly in shock.
"Ectopic pregnancies have a few symptom such as vaginal bleeding and you mentioned that you had some bleeding recently. The best way to detect if it is an ectopic pregnancy is with an ultrasound. After I performed the ultrasound on you, I consulted with my colleague and he agreed with my diagnosis."
"Is there… any way to save it," An asked.
The doctor pursed his lip, "It is exceptionally rare for an embryo to survive an ectopic pregnancy, I believe it is less than two percent. But, Kohinata san, that is the only factor, you yourself could be in danger because a miscarriage will threaten your life as well. I believe the best course of action would be to remove it as soon as possible before this occurs. Frankly the fact that you are bleeding means that a miscarriage is likely to occur soon. You're going to need surgery to remove the embryo and repair the damage."
An looked as though she was about to cry as she bit her lip and nodded her head. "How, did this happen?" The demoralizing look on An's face was almost to much for Onodera to bear. In spite of all there reservations about a child, being parents, telling their own parents, and all the things that go along with it, they had never considered losing the child simply because it contained a part of person they each held dear. Now, there was no choice. An's question, therefore, greatly peaked Onodera's interest.
The doctor again paused and weighed his words carefully. "That's something else we detected from the sonogram," he began. "In most cases, it is impossible to tell what causes ectopic pregnancies, there are risk factors of course, but there is no definitive way to determine what causes them. However, in your case there is." He paused again as he studied An, Onodera wished he knew what he was thinking. "Kohinata san, sometimes, women and men are born with defects in their reproductive systems. Sometimes it's the result of genetics, unknown risk factors, or they can be just freak occurrences." He paused again before taking a deep breath, "Kohinata san, while you have all the other important components of a reproductive system, you know eggs, ovaries, fallopian tubes, etcetera you don't have a womb."
"What," An breathed in shock.
"You don't have a womb," the doctor repeated. "You'll never be able to have a viable pregnancy." There were tears in An's eyes as Onodera hugged her after this revelation. However, An somehow manage to keep herself together, whether from will power or shock it can't be known. However, she took several shuddering breaths. The doctor, observing this continued, "Now, please do not give up all hope. There are other ways to have a child if you so choose later on." An looked to just barely be paying attention to the doctor. "Adoption is one option as well as surrogacy. You just need to follow the laws and regulations that go with them. Please do not give up hope."
An looked was now looking away and just staring into the distance, not saying a word. It was Onodera's turn to speak, "When would you suggest that she get the surgery?"
"The sooner, the better."
Onodera nodded as he reached into An's purse and grabbed her date book. "She is available the week following New Years, how long would the recovery process be?"
"About 2 weeks, then a couple months of rehab."
Onodera touched An's shoulder gently, "What do you think, you have off for a week just after New Years, then you'd only need to take an extra week off from work?" An just barely nodded, though it didn't look like she was actually paying attention…
In all honesty, An still didn't look like she was paying attention to anything. When they left the doctor's office, Onodera had just followed An as she seemingly wondered around until they made their to the park bench.
"An…" Onodera whispered, trying to think of something, "I, um… I guess this is a… good thing because neither one of us are ready… to be…to be parents yet."
An looked over at him then, her eyes mixed with shock and unshed tears. "Are kidding me!?" An took several deep breaths. "I may not have wanted… to be a mother just yet," she reached up to cover her mouth, "But that doesn't mean, I never at the very least wanted the option!"
"But you do have the option. Granted it won't be in the way you expected but… you heard the doc, you do have other options."
"Do you have any idea what all is involved with surrogacy pregnancies or adoptions. Surrogates, have certain rights, and if they find a sympathetic judge they can get custody of the child, and adoptions, there are so many hoops to jump through plus all the back round checks and if you don't have pitch perfect partner…" An suddenly stopped speaking and looked away.
Onodera furrowed his brow, "An, what's wrong… there's more to this isn't there?"
She pursed her lips together, before licking her lips and beginning again, "Ritchan, I need you to be honest with me." She turned her gaze back to Onodera, "Do you love me?" Onodera swallowed. This was it, this was the moment he had been trying to figure out for the past week. As he was about to answer, she continued. "I've been wondering since the last time I stayed overnight at your apartment and you mentioned, possibly, not getting married… then the other day, I overheard my coworkers…"
"…That's why you were so upset when you showed up at my apartment…"
An nodded, "One of them was saying that his girlfriend purposefully became pregnant in order to force him to marry her and that all women just…"
"An…"
"And then… when we were in the lift… you had this look, that… I haven't seen in years and know has never been directed at me…" she paused again. "So, do you love me or… am I just in the way?"
"…An…" Onodera closed his eyes and sighed before continuing, "you've been, my best friend… practically since we were both in diapers." "Can I really do it? Can I really break her heart after what's just happened? Can I really be that big of a bastard to her," Onodera thought.
"But you don't love me," An spoke softly, stopping Onodera before he could truly begin. Onodera took a moment before he shook his head in conformation. An nodded hers and turned to face the playing children.
Everything was out in the open now. There was no turning back from anything. Nothing was said for a while. They both just watch the children play. "I'm sorry," Onodera finally whispered.
An sniffed, "…It's…it's okay… I think… apart of me always knew that…" An took a deep breath. "I can go with you… when you talk to our parents about dissolving the engagement."
"I can… go with you, when you go for the surgery, as moral support."
An shook her head, "No, I think that it be best if I was alone… for awhile. But thank you." Onodera nodded his head. "Ritchan… Can I, can I ask you for one favor?"
"What?"
"Can you… can you hold me," An's voice cracked. Onodera quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close as she finally broke down. Onodera kissed the back of her head as she sobbed.
He looked up to see a young boy and girl crossing in front of them, staring. AS if they were the passing spirits of the children they would never have. The children that An would never have.
Poor An :-(
I always planned on have her not having a womb, I just needed time finding out and researching what type of pregnancy occurs outside of the uterus, hence all the chapters in between. So thank you so much for supporting me and keeping up with this... You guys rock :-D
Ahem, anywho, SHOUT OUTS :-D
AngstyYaoiFangirl: :-DDD I really don't know how to respond to your comment, other than with this chapter :-D I hope you enjoyed.
Guest: Sorry, Takano's reaction isn't in this chapter, but it's coming, I promise, it is coming soon :-D
EmpressMinea: I hope you got a lot of rest, and are feeling better. No worries about the late reply :-D
ItsAPartyInTheUSA14: Because of this chapter! :-D
tchaillya: Onodera's still has some things to work out, but I always wanted it to be An to make the real sacrifice, so I hope you enjoyed :-D
Visitor: I really hope this chapter delivered and satisfied both sides, because Onodera's cleared up everything with An but still has to talk to his parents. I hope you enjoyed :-D
SaySaeri: OH YEAH :-D
Animebaconlover: I hope this chapter answered your questioned :-D And don't worry, Takano will be coming back next chapter.
Soulhearts: She was and she wasn't pregnant. Women not possessing a uterus and getting ectopic pregnancies do happen. And thank you, I did get a lot of sleep and I am a happy camper :-D I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will look forward to what comes next :-D
Kuro13Dead: Does. This. Chapter. Answer. Your. Question. :-D
angellovsyaoi: It was his unfortunately, but it wasn't viable, poor An. :-( I hope you enjoyed this, and no worries Takano will be back :-D
Again, this arc will be ending in two chapters if you can believe it! Then it will be the world book tour, so if you have anything you want to see, write a review or send me a pm and I will see what I can do... Also, be sure to tune in next chapter, because I will be giving a sneak preview of The Witness, the Yokozawa/Kirishima spinoff. Your choice, it can be from the first chapter or a later chapter that I've got in my head. Let me know :-D