Lemonade Sherbet-2015: Here's the next chapter… Hope you like it!
Midori-chan123: You can hug Tenma though Kyousuke hugging him is impossible at present. Hope you like this chapter!
Kyoya-kun: Thank you for the rating! I'll find a situation to explain about Fei and his family though there isn't an explanation of that in this chapter. Hope you like this chapter!
Catherine-storms: Don't worry… It's still not the end for sadness. Hope you like this chapter!
Shiroi-white phoenix: I like your profile photo very much… Wow, you're really angry at the characters. Hope you like this chapter!
Guest: Thank you and I will look up those sites… Hope you like this chapter!
I'm very sorry it has taken this long… I met with a minor accident which resulted in a very high fever and bed rest. And you know about parents, right? They do not allow cell phones during sickness. And, certainly no PC too… Hence I made you people a bit longer chapter and this chapter is entirely based on Tenma only.
Hope you like it… Let me know through your humble reviews.
His belly was prominent and rounder than it normally should be. It presented a very sharp ache in his spine whenever he worked to sit up or stand or waddle… since, walking wasn't an option anymore, considering the size of his enormously protruding stomach.
Tenma huffed out a long relaxed sigh as he sat down on a low floor model stool placed in front of the stove made with wooden sticks and bricks. He had to make lunch. It was hard, he reckoned, to be on his own, helping himself out and looking out for his child. As he drowned himself into the depths of cooking, he found his thoughts flying to a place that was once his home.
Everything was perfect, merely a few months ago. Five, to be precise. He had a Kingdom to rule, a palace to live, a husband to love and be loved. And, then came his banishment where he, the ever innocent person, was deemed to be guilty. The bridge he and his husband had carefully and lovingly built was burnt down to ashes. The only upside was that he did not let the wildfire consume him… Just so that his baby would be alive though he was dead within.
That night, after he requested his husband for one last love making session, Tenma had gathered all the scattered remains of his courage to step foot out of the life he built with his former husband, Kyousuke. He let out a resigned sigh, yet once again, at the image of his husband whose title went with an extension of a prefix, 'former'. Tenma fingered the now efficiently tanned yet cold spot on his left ring finger where once the mark of his marriage was seated.
Midnight it was and scary… Tenma was used to the dark but it was a different kind of nullity where he knew his surroundings. That night, he hadn't anything on his mind except for the enormous fact that he needed to get as far as possible from Eden and Raimon. The day he was given away to Kyousuke was the day he cut all his ties off with Raimon, except his kind brother Ken. He very well knew that if his banishment led him to the gates of Raimon, the doors to his unborn child's doom would be opened gracefully and maliciously by the residents of the Raimon palace.
So, he worked his legs to take him somewhere, anywhere, far from the clutches of Eden and Raimon together. A safe life is what he promised his unborn baby and he would make sure that at any cost, his child would reap all the benefits befitting a royal. He would certainly make sure of that.
His disappearance would surely trigger Kyousuke into sending search parties for him. So, he never went to Inazuma town because that would be the first place Kyousuke would choose to look for him. After all, they had their family there… Tenma supposed he couldn't call them family anymore, Yuuichi and Taiyou, as Kyousuke disowned him and stripped him of his rights as his legal wife.
Alone, tired and terrified beyond wits yet determined to get away from all the loopholes his life had thrown him into, Tenma padded through the dense but familiar forest. He would've taken a horse from the stables but he doubted highly that the horses would remain calm enough to not alert the palace guards and get him captured at once. Besides, he didn't want to risk the chances of a miscarriage which elevate rapidly if a pregnant person rode a horse.
When he was sure that he was far away from both Eden and the Inazuma town, he searched for a clearing under the moon light and made himself comfortable under a tree for the night. His mind wandered to his place beside his former husband each time he closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep which unabashedly reduced him to a sobbing mess on the dirty ground – the only witnesses to his expectedly long moment of weakness being the trees, broken twigs dancing with the sand and the moon. To Tenma, the music of the cicadas seemed utterly grave that horrible night.
He woke up to the sound of bells ringing and it got louder as seconds ticked by. When he opened his eyes, fighting off the remnants of his sleep, he was both bemused and benumbed when he saw a few men and women surrounding his sleeping form in a quite enquiry. There were two couples who seemed to be a lot older than him but young… and beyond them; he caught a glimpse of two bullock carts before returning his gaze back to the people watching down on him.
"Who might you be, young lad?" one of the lean males whose black hair hung over his eyes, questioned him politely.
"Are you here alone? Where are your parents?" A female asked, not giving a chance for him to reply.
"By any chance, are you here with your spouse?" the second female asked him, gentler than the first one.
"Let him speak!" the last one of the four, the second male, took his chance to utter a few words, which were worthy.
Tenma chose his words carefully. It wasn't like what he said was true entirely but they weren't all false too.
"I have no one and I am lost. I'm traveling to any place where I can find some people," Tenma said.
He had no one because the ones he thought he had abandoned him. Maybe, when his child came out into the world, he would find one reason to live for. He was lost… in both the senses of the word, he justified himself. In a war of proving himself and showering love and trust, he lost… He was trampled by defeat and he was surprised that his former husband had been the one to guide him to his downfall. And he was traveling to a place far away from his homeland and Eden.
"Then, you could come with us. We are on our way to the Okinawa Kingdom which a day's travel from here," the black haired man offered.
Tenma never felt so grateful and relaxed than he felt at the moment.
"Thank you very much," he expressed his gratitude as he accepted their generous offer.
He didn't know what to do once he reached Okinawa. Tenma shared a cart with one couple, all the while keeping in mind to maintain distance from the lady seated across him. It wouldn't do good to infuriate his rescuers, even though his fault would be no more than an accident. After being accounted to a crime he didn't even commit, Tenma took no chances in degrading his conscious further.
Upon reaching Okinawa and being dropped off at a market place, he thanked the two couples once again before parting ways. He knew nothing about the Kingdom or its people. He received a few cloak-and-dagger glances from nearly everyone on the street, given his appearance. He simply neglected them. He had no money, to say, he had no currency that would enable his purchasing prospects in the new Kingdom as the type of coin differed from Kingdom to Kingdom. Feeling resigned to his fate, he slumped down on the grassy ground that was surprisingly on either sides of the stony road.
He situated himself on the ground, watching the passersby and inhaling the sweet aroma of food and fruits from the market, hoping that he'd be eating soon, if not for him… for his baby. He wanted to wait till the evening and then maybe, he would trade some of his packed valuables for the Kingdom's currency so that he could feed his baby and himself.
"Kid?" he heard a female voice, too raspy and shaking to be young.
He looked up to find an old woman with grayed hair and wrinkled face staring down at him. She held a stick in her hand and Tenma thought that the lady used it for support while walking.
"Yes?" he responded because being quiet and not answering to a call would be rude and impolite.
"Take this and have your fill," she said as she gently thrust a small bag into his open arms. Tenma was mortified yet relieved to find that she offered him fruits to eat.
"No… It is okay, I don't require them!" he said quickly, not having it in him to accept the old lady's gift.
"You really do need it, boy… Ah, I see you're suffering and the wound runs deep. Fear shall infect and courage shall dispel the unseen gashes upon one's heart… Remember that, won't you?" she asked with a knowing smile as she ruffled his brown hair.
"I shall… Thank you," Tenma said, swallowing the lump lodged in his throat.
"It seems that you might want a roof upon your fragile self for a while," she said again.
Tenma, for a while wondered, if it was possible to read a person spiritually before nodding his head in affirmation to the old lady's query. For a few days, he stayed at her place, helping her in doing the house chores. It was then he learnt that her humble name was "Arai Izanami". He felt comfortable, serving her and keeping her company since she always seemed to complain that the house was lonely. Her house was quite big and he was sure that the old lady wasn't deficient in her funds and that they'd last even after her demise. She often discussed her family with Tenma and he felt oddly at ease as the days passed.
"You are welcomed to stay here for as long as you want," the Arai Izanami had told him when he first stepped foot into her vast but empty house.
For once, he felt, she was a God in disguise, offering him help in times of dire need. And, he respected her as such. For a few days, he stayed and when he informed her that he'd leave, Tenma saw a flash of disappointment cross her features. It was then he enquired her about her life.
A few miles away from Okinawa, there was a beach. Her husband and her son traveled across the sea, earning money through trades she did not know. Her husband died in his sleep suffering a silent pain through the heart, making it less painful for him to depart the world. She had written a letter to her son's family to be present at her husband's funeral and she was met with tragic news the day after when a storm struck the sea and the travelers were drowned by Mother Ocean. That was the last she heard of her son and his family.
"My son had brown hair and blue eyes too," she said after she completed narrating her story.
She had been a part of four funerals… Her husband's, her son's, her daughter-in-law's and her grandson's funerals.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Tenma said.
"Don't be sorry, Tenma… Some people call me mad, you know? At my ability to see beyond the skin… Into the very soul… Do you think so about me?"
"I… Um, no, I don't think so but it freaks me out when you point out the things which are unsaid," Tenma admitted.
Her grey eyes fixed him with a motherly yet calculating gaze as she smiled at him.
"I do not have time, son… He is calling for me… And, I would like to spend the remainder of my days here by providing you the things you want," she said and it spooked Tenma again.
"Meaning?" he questioned.
"You're supporting a life, apart from yours… The second life nurtures love and what better than motherly love?"
He was taken aback by the fact that Izanami knew about his pregnancy without him telling her. Out of pure instinct, he smoothed a hand down his flat stomach and was met with an affectionate smile from the old lady. He decided that he wouldn't leave the house which, in a very short while, provided him the warmth of a home. After a few weeks from that day, Izanami fell ill. Her body burned up and touching her would be like touching the blazing fire.
Tenma tried to help her by pressing a very wet cloth over her burning skin but her condition only worsened. He cried, unable to come to terms with the fact that the motherly love he received was leaving him permanently. He cried into Izanami's open arms. He had not felt the love of a mother for years and he cursed God indignantly for taking away the only source of love he found after the fall-out from his husband.
"Izu-san… Is there nothing I can do?" he asked between sobs.
"There is nothing that will defy God's will, Tenma. You were meant to be here for the life in you needed solace… Do not, under any circumstances, let my absence deter the feelings of passion and love in you… There is a hole closing in on you…" she rasped out heavily from her position on the cot.
"Hole? What hole?" Tenma frowned.
"You'll figure it out soon… Remember, a hole is nothing but an ocean of darkness… Always keep your sight on the light… Always. And, that light is love… Trust love and it shall save you. Dark times befall everyone. Just remember where your loyalty lies… And, Tenma?"
"Yes, Izu-san?"
"There's my call… The doors are open for me to leave and I want you to know that I love you, son…" were her last words before the silvery gleam in her grey eyes left, leaving gloom behind.
Shortly after her funeral, Tenma couldn't live in the house anymore for the memories of Izu-san haunted him to no end. He packed all his belongings and took Izu-san's wooden stick as a souvenir of her motherly presence in his life. Before leaving the Kingdom, he made sure to buy a sword for himself, using Izu-san's money. And while he was on his way to another Kingdom, he met a very young man… A pigeon perched upon his shoulder.
Tenma still remembered the way he pinned the man to a nearby tree with his newly bought sword pointed across the man's neck.
"Why were you following me?!" Tenma demanded as he stood on his toes to look up into the parrot green eyes of the man which were an exact shade of his pony-tailed hair.
"I'm following you? I lost my way in this dense forest and the only human I found was you…" the man admitted sheepishly and Tenma released him and sheathed his sword.
"My apologies… I most certainly do not know my way through this forest either…" Tenma shrugged.
"Then, we can find it together," the parrot haired man offered and Tenma nodded.
Together, they weaved their way through the shrubs and trees, camping once a while and eating fruits, sometimes making a small talk, knowing bits and pieces about each other. The forest opened up into a vast stretch of sand and foamy water.
"The Ocean," Tenma sighed.
"That means, we've entered the Tsunami Province," the green-haired man murmured.
"Do you know this place?" Tenma asked eagerly, wanting the answer to be 'yes'.
"Oh, yes, I do… I've come here, a few times," the man replied with a smirk.
Tenma hesitated to ask for help from the man he just met. He did not know if he could trust the man yet but he knew that if by chance, the things went wrong, he could support and save himself. After all, he couldn't do anything alone, given his condition. His belly seemed to be showing a little if he wore tight fitting robes. Unconsciously, out of habit, he smoothed down a hand over his stomach, a silent caress to his baby… A promised reassurance.
The man sensed Tenma's nervousness and smi8led to himself. He wasn't a fool to not know about the traits one shall possess when pregnant. The way he kept his hand over his belly most of the time, the way he rubbed his stomach soothingly, the slight roundness when the boy sat down – the action causing his robes to pull tight around his muscles, the bouts of nausea that the boy encountered during their two days journey… It was all familiar…
"Are you pregnant?" the man asked, looking down at Tenma who was a couple of inches lesser in height than him.
"How'd you-?" Tenma's eyes widened in shock as words caught in his throat.
"You're not too hard to figure out… Come on, I know of a place here… You can stay there," he said.
"What made you think I don't have anywhere else to go?" Tenma accused, offended by the man's words.
"Oh, I'm… I'm so sorry. I just assumed – "
"You assumed correct. Let's go," Tenma cut him off and they left together without further ado.
Tenma berated himself for trusting the man blindly but after a few days of staying in the man's company in a small house that was his', or that was what the man had told him when asked, Tenma deemed him to be trustworthy.
"I seem to recall that, in all the week we've stayed in one another's company, we've not introduced ourselves properly," the man told Tenma while they were seated on the sandy shore.
"Yes, we did not. I'm…" Tenma wondered, what name to give. Matsukaze Tenma or Tsurugi Tenma… He wasn't a Tsurugi anymore, he knew that but he couldn't give away his surname recklessly because both the Kingdoms were famous. So, he just opted to tell his name.
"Tenma… I'm Tenma," he said, plucking a shell from the sand and observing it.
"Tenma. What's your family name, may I ask?" the man questioned.
"It is not important," is what Tenma gave to him. "Your name?"
"Since family names aren't of much importance here, you can call me Rune," Tenma chuckled at the man's wit.
"Rune… You sure do know that I do not trust you right?" Tenma asked playfully.
"Yes, I do," the man said before moving closer to Tenma. The pigeon that was always perched on his left shoulder flew and situated itself on Tenma's right shoulder when their shoulders brushed ever so slightly. "And, I'll do anything to acquire that."
Tenma smiled.
"Tenma! I brought you your medicines!" Rune's voice filtered from the living room to the kitchen, snapping Tenma back to the present.
"Coming!" Tenma yelled back, trying to get up but failing due to his stomach.
Tenma named the pigeon "Kyou", a reminder of his former husband to him. When Rune asked, he told him that his former husband was the only one he shall love till and after death.
Kyou fluttered into the kitchen and perched atop Tenma's head, into the huge mass of his growing hair. He told himself that he needed a haircut when the bird kept scratching his head with its tiny claws.
"Kyou, you'll give me a bleeding," he groaned as he stood up successfully.
"You look like you'll be delivering the baby any moment though you're still in your 28th week," Rune said, worried lines etched on his skin.
"I think the baby took after his Father," Tenma chuckled.
"How so?"
"His Father is a bit… difficult. Just like this little boy here," Tenma said, patting his stomach twice. Rune hummed in response.
"I haven't seen Kyou for a while this week… Sent him on a letter business?" Tenma asked as he picked the pigeon from his head and stroked its back lovingly.
"You could say that," Rune sounded serious.
"Okay… I hope your so called business is going well. I've made lunch for us. So, let's eat?" Tenma questioned.
"Yes."
Tenma never left the house now-a-days. Once he made the mistake of taking a walk in the neighborhood and was met with disdainful glances and murmurs, all directed at his state. He was a male bearer after all. Staying at the palace, he had quite forgotten the way a male bearer was treated. Though there might be some who had their virtues and respected a pregnant person, they were the others who always despise a male bearer even though they are pregnant. All they mind is throwing insults at them.
Not a few weeks ago when Tenma left to buy some fruits and bird food from the market, he accidentally bumped into a man as the market was too crowded and he faced a difficult time fitting in there with his enlarged stomach.
"Sorry," Tenma apologized but apparently, the man's lack of respect towards pregnant males had been evident on his face.
"You, clodpole! Watch where you're going!" the man warned.
"My humble apologies," Tenma said again.
The man looked down at Tenma's belly hatefully and abruptly snatched Tenma's left hand from its place on his stomach. Tenma shucked in a gasp of pain.
"Pregnant and unmarried?" the man sneered. "Must be one hell of a strumpet, that is what you lot are… Stay out of civilians' sight," the man said and left, leaving a shell-shocked Tenma behind at being called a 'Strumpet'.
That night he cried himself to sleep and never once left the house again. He could not bear anymore of the insults that the world wished to stuff him with. Overtime, he learned to trust Rune, though not more than a guardian. The difference in their age was almost close to ten years and whenever Tenma asked him about his family, Rune always diverted the issue. Tenma stopped asking after a while.
After lunch, they had packed their belongings as Rune had told Tenma that they would be going on a vacation, starting the next day, so as to clear their minds and some fresh air could help the baby's uncomfortableness in Tenma's stomach.
Two days later-
A couple of days ago, the Emperor, Saryuu Evan had ordered his General to use the Filling tactic to capture Eden from the inside out. Eden had been terribly vulnerable because of Tsurugi Kyousuke. The day he came to know that his child was dead even before he came into this world struck him like a whiplash. He knew that there was no chance Tenma administered an antidote to himself because he did not have the slightest idea of what drug he'd taken.
Tsurugi Kyousuke's life was filled with "If only".
If only I had trusted him enough…
If only I had listened to him…
If only I had reduced his punishment…
If only I had chosen him over our Kingdom…
There were so many of those that ran each passing second in Kyousuke's brain. The thoughts were futile… But, they were better than feeling the absence of his wife and his dead child. Locked up in his room, his personal sanctuary, he did not pay heed to the noisy clumsiness in his palace. His ears didn't even catch up on the sounds and clatter of swords and screams of people on the world outside his door. His room, the room he once shared with his former wife, Tenma, reeked of sweat, alcohol and misery. Tenma's wedding ring, the gold band with four gleaming sapphires, rested atop his wedding ring, a gold band with a diamond, on the ring finger of his right hand.
He heard loud thumps and he snapped his head towards the door. For a brief moment, he blamed the sound on his fiercely pounding headache. He shuddered when the sound became louder and even through his alcohol filled brain, he could tell that something was beating upon his door. Once again, the sound erupted after a brief pause, throwing the door off his hinges onto the floor. The light filtered in, curving through the strands of weeks' long darkness. Kyousuke shielded his eyes from the intruding light.
"What a pity! The King of Eden is at his worst!" a triumphant voice cooed and Kyousuke could see the outline of some figures entering his room.
"Who is it?" he slurred, his voice gravelly due to no use.
Instead of receiving an answer, he felt a hand grip his hair and lift him to his knees. The bottle of alcohol in his left hand rolled on the ground, spilling its meager liquid content onto the carpet, staining it. Kyousuke's hands flew towards the source of pain but no pained gasp escaped the confines of his mouth. The person leaned in close so that Kyousuke could have a look at him.
"Remember me, Kyousuke?" he asked with a smirk.
Realization dawned upon Kyousuke's drunken features and his brain raced into fight mode as he struggled in his captor's hands futilely.
"Saryuu Evan…" Kyousuke breathed out.
MUST READ NOTES:
Rune is Fei Rune, as you might've guessed already. I've mentioned about his intentions in the previous chapters so it is clear to you all that his kindness is just a pretense. I've written this chapter based on Tenma's thoughts so, I did not write about what Fei thinks in his mind during his stay with Tenma. Also, he doesn't make any sexual advances towards Tenma. He's got a family… And, he's loyayl to his wife. I thought I should clear these basic things before you ask me… :)
Any doubts? Suggestions? Advice?
PLEASE REVIEW!
~ Wheezy.