J16: Well, I'm back from my vacation. Uhh, it wasn't as fun as I thought
it was.
Thanks to the following for reviewing my story:
Archforge Kim Hayes Sara Tinabedina Dark Light Angel Jen krn*kyutee
keisan
Um, sorry about chapter 7. Very confusing, isn't it? It's only going to get more complicated, so if you feel need to, e-mail me and I'll help you sort things out. Ok, as for the next chapter, I know that you can't really tell if you're pregnant even a day after when it all happens, but it's fanfiction, and it's my story, so if I have a duck and a rabbit fall in love, then so be it. But thankfully, I don't plan on interbreeding anytime soon. And to clear up krn*kyutee's misconceptions, it is a Jenruki, and it should stay that way throughout the story. And I know that I'm making Ryo...soft...sorry about that. The OOC bug has bitten me.
Check out my new story, "The Journey of the Destined!"
And as a last comment before I shut up and go on with the story, based on Archforge's observations, the whole "explaining the thing to Ruki's mother about holding back", that will come into play later on in the story.
Chapter 8: The Troubles of Pregnancy and Friendship
5:00 a.m.
I still couldn't get any sleep, and since it was about dawn, I decided to stay up.
I walked up to Ryo's balcony, overlooking the nice scenery. The sun had barely started to come up, and the rays illuminated the ground very nicely. Ryo must be lucky to live out here like this, making me wonder why my mother didn't pick a secluded area like this.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I turned around and saw Ryo, in his bathrobe with a cup of coffee, watching the sunrise. "You want some?"
"Oh, no thanks."
"I've always liked the outside environment that this world has given us." Oh no, now he's a green peace kind of guy. I listened intently anyhow, out of courtesy. "Just like the digital world. For the most parts, like what you guys saw, yeah, there was the barren deserts, and the ruins of old civilizations over there. But there are places like what we see before us that made the digital world so beautiful, it's just unfortunate that you weren't around long to see it."
He continued. "I guess, love is like that too. There are its beautiful parts, its ugly parts, but when it goes all together, you learn to admire it and get used to it."
I couldn't help but smile. Ryo sure had a way with words. If I wasn't with Jen...
No. I shook my head. I couldn't think that way about Ryo. Even if I broke up with Jenrya, I know he didn't think that way also. "Ryo," I started...
He looked at me. "What is it?"
I paused for a short minute. "Thank you...for letting me stay here," I blurted out.
He put his free hand on my shoulder. "Hey, any time."
****************
Ryo wasn't the best cooker, so we settled on Cheerios. I liked Cheerios, so I guess that was pretty cool. He also didn't cook much at home, so he usually went out for dinner. His checkbook held enough, getting it from his dad and all. Kind of sad that he has to waste it all on me.
I felt grubby afterwards. Taking a setting of clothes, I went into the bathroom and took a long shower. Guess what? The bathroom was clean as well. It gave me half a mind to think that Ryo tidied up the house for my visit. Then again, he was always perfect.
After about twenty minutes of hot water, my skin was getting pruney, so I got out. I took one of the available towels and dried myself. It felt good to be clean again; not just of dirt and smelliness, but also of that damn mother of mine. Uh...she needs to liven up a little. Not like I screwed Jen. Well, I was pretty close to...
I got dressed quickly and walked out. Ryo came to me with a piece of paper, which I was not completely sure of it's contents.
"Your first errand," Ryo said to me, smiling.
"Oh great."
"Yeah. Um. grocery shopping won't take long. Here's a list of items and fifty dollars." He presented me the paper and the moolah, which I snatched out of his hands. "Well, while you take care of that, I have to go to work. Go ahead and take care of what you need to do personally. I'll be back at around 3:00." He gave me a hug, which I assumed meant 'good-bye', and he hopped in his car, and soon enough, he drove off down the road.
Well. Might as well take care of business. I jumped in my own vehicle and drove away.
****************
It was a long drive back to the city. I hoped I knew how to get back to the house by myself. So, I made a mental note of where to go and how to get back. Before long, I had reached the grocery store and decided to finish the errand first.
I didn't look at the grocery list until now. Eggplants? What the hell does he want with eggplants? Figuring by the sheer quantity of the list and his lack of consistency of eating at home, I thought this ought to handle him for the next couple of months.
At least while the milk isn't spoiled.
*****************
I had almost finished Ryo's list of items when I came to the last piece of merchandise: allergy tablets. Ok.
I strolled down aisle seven looking for the tablets when I came across a fellow friend of mine, rummaging through some products.
"Hey, Juri," I voiced to her. She felt my presence immediately and hid whatever she had behind her back. "What's that?"
"Um.nothing," she said innocently. Weird, she had something behind her back.
"Come on, let me see," I requested her.
She paused for a minute, not sure of whether or not to show me what she hid. Finally, she put her hands out and presented to me what she had been planning to purchase.
"Pregnancy Test Tabs?" I couldn't believe what she had! Now I know why she didn't want to show me. "Don't tell me."
Juri nodded slowly. "I'm not sure about it yet, but I have a good idea about it. Ruki, I don't know what's going to happen to me if I am pregnant!"
"Yeah, but shouldn't you wait a week or two before you test?"
"These things are special products," she said, as if advertising the damn thing. "They work after 24 hours of the conception, if there is one."
"Oh my God, Juri. Let me come with you to your house and test it out," I said. Hey, I made a commitment yesterday, all I'm doing is backing it up. If it weren't for the severeness of the situation, this would be exciting, maybe even. fun. But I'm not the one who may be pregnant; so my best bet was to shut the hell up. "Here, let's go get this purchased."
***************
As the cashier ran the items through the checkout stand, I couldn't help but worry about the poor girl behind me with the pregnancy test tabs to purchase. She's only seventeen, soon to be eighteen, and she damn sure isn't ready to have a child. I just hope the test turns out alright.
"That'll be $43.52," the guy behind the counter told me. I pulled out the fifty bucks Ryo gave me and handed it over to the dude. After he gave me the change, I pushed the cart to the end of the checkout station and waited for the girl behind me. She showed no face of emotion, just like.the events five years ago. I couldn't help but put on a depressed frown of my own, as if she was spreading the disease of gloominess around.
****************
6:00 a.m.
The alarm clock on my table ringed with happiness. I however, had different views on the day as I added another dent on the wall with the clock.
"Jenrya, get dressed. We're leaving in a half an hour," my mom told me.
"Alright," I said. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. My mother was still in the bedroom. "What's up?"
She gave me a stern look. Oh no. "Jen, last night, when you were gone with Ruki," shit, "your friend gave me a call and told about your happenings the other night after the prom."
Oh, dammit! Who was it that called my mother? Probably the same person who called Ruki's mother.
"What the hell were you thinking? Do you realize how close you were to ending your free life as you knew it?"
Yeah, but I couldn't help it. I was under Ruki's spell. At least, that's what I wanted to tell her, but all I could muster up was a "Yes, mother."
She groaned. "I don't know what to do with you." She thought for a moment, sure that she would issue a punishment to me, until she came to a conclusion. "You know what? You stay home today. I don't want you to leave this house while we're gone. Is that understood? Because if I find out that you leave, I swear to God I'll make sure you regretted getting together in the first place." She left in a storm of a mood.
Damn. What a weird mother. Punishing me by making me stay home. How stupid was that?
Ruki's mother and my mother said that 'a friend of mine' told them. I tried to narrow it down. The only friends I have were Ruki, Juri, and Takato. Of course Ruki wouldn't tell her mother; that would be stupid. Juri, well, Juri has enough problems as it stood.
That left Takato. It all suddenly made sense to me! Takato, the one who liked to do things like this. He didn't care what happened to Ruki and me; that asshole.
***************
Once my family left, I decided to make a little phone call to my good ol' buddy.
"Hello?"
"Takato, this is Jenrya. Is anybody home?"
Silence. "Nope. The bread shop is closed also."
"That's even better. Hold on while I go over there and kick your ass." I then hung up immediately, making him steam. The little punk; that was the second time he screwed things up with Ruki and me.
Not heeding the threat of my own mother, I raced out my house and headed towards Takato's. Knowing the guy, I'd bet money he had a bat in his possession, hiding behind the door.
******************
Sure enough, I was right. I opened the door to the bakery and found a wooden bat heading towards my leg. I jumped up in time and grabbed the bat from the guy's hands. While I had his hands, I twisted it enough to cause insurmountable pain in Takato's wrist without actually breaking it.
"Oh shit!"
Seeing that it was unnecessary to inflict further damage to Takato, I threw the bat across the room, making it inaccessible to the brown-haired boy. I sat on top of him and demanded answers.
"Alright, you big jerk, why did you do it?"
He choked out, "Do what?"
I grabbed his neck. "You know damn well what I'm talking about."
Takato struggled for a second before speaking up. "I.was.just doing.what.she said."
I let go of him abruptly. 'Doing what she said?' "Doing what who said?"
He paused. "Um, scratch that last remark-"
I grabbed his neck again, making him wince in more pain.
".R.i..k.a," he blurted. Again, I let go.
Ruki?
"Wait a minute. What the hell are you talking about?"
He coughed for a minute, trying to gain his breath. "Alright, I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but listen carefully, because I'll tell you, since you're my friend."
I got off of the boy, just to give him some air.
"Ok, I was the one who told Ruki's and your parents. But it wasn't on my free will. She told me to tell the parents."
"Alright." I said slowly, not believing a word. "Where's the reason in her telling you to say that to our parents?"
"It happened yesterday. While you and Juri were cooking breakfast at her house, I talked to Ruki. She wanted me to tell you about what happened at her house. Sure, there was a high risk, in that Ruki got kicked out of her house, but she did it for a reason. Ready for the kicker?"
I swallowed nervously and nodded.
"She doesn't want to be with you boyfriend-girlfriend-wise," He concluded, looking away from me and out the window. "It's too big a risk on her mom's relationship with her.
I couldn't explain the emotions that were surging through my body at that time. I thought she liked me; she even said so herself. What the hell was going on? "But Takato, why?"
"Because," he explained, "She thought that if another prom night thing happened again, then you might find her pregnant one day, or a non-virgin. It all goes back to her mother's past."
"You don't understand, Takato. Why?"
"Jenrya, you are confusing. Listen. She told her mother to make an example of it. Mrs. Makino said herself that she doesn't want Ruki hanging out with you."
"Oh my God. Why didn't Ruki just tell this to me herself?"
"That's why she wanted me to tell your parents that. I guess she's afraid to talk to you. Remember, I wasn't supposed to tell you about this."
I gave an ironic laugh. Ruki? Afraid? Seems that she's not good at that kind of stuff after all. "Alright. I'll talk to her tomorrow at school, or you know what? I know where she's staying right now, so I'm going to call her later and take care of business."
"Oh boy, I expect fireworks over there."
"Damn sure you will." I put a hand on Takato's shoulder. "Takato, I'm sorry, again for what I just did. Is your hand ok?"
"I'll live. I guess I should also apologize for nearly taking your leg out with that bat."
"Forgiven."
*****************
So many things were going through my mind at once. Juri's possible pregnancy, Takato's promises to me about our 'plan,' and Jenrya. he's bound to figure it out sooner or later, I just hope he understands.
I pulled into Juri's driveway to go check with her test. It was the least that I could do as her friend, after all.
"So, Juri, the instructions is to drip some of your urine on the little tab thingy, '+' means positive, the one you don't want."
"No shit, Ruki," Juri replied. You could tell she wasn't particularly happy about the whole thing. I know I wouldn't either. I continued.
"And, '-' means negative, the good one," I concluded. Go in the bathroom and check it out."
"Ok." She started to head towards the bathroom.
"Oh, Juri?"
She turned around. "Yes, Ruki?"
I hesitated. "I hope for the best with you."
She smiled nervously, obviously trying to hide the anticipation of bad things. "Thanks."
Closing the door behind me, I laid down on her bed, trying to free my mind out of all this stress. I swear to God, I'll need a psychiatrist after this is all said and done.
Several minutes passed. It couldn't take that long, could it? I checked the box, which was still lying on the bed and read the directions over and over again. "May take up to 15 minutes to show results." Well. I guess that explains everything.
I wonder what would happen in both situations. Of course, if Juri was negative, then no baby, and she would hold off the sex button until she was at least married. On the other hand, positive, she'd be pregnant. Abortion? Hell no. If she'd ever consider that, I would slap some sense into her and tell her to raise the baby herself. Of course, I wouldn't be the one carrying the baby.
After five more minutes passed, the Door of Fate finally opened, revealing a disheartened and sad seventeen year old girl in the form of Juri Katou. Slowly, she held up the tab.
Positive.
Numerous things were going through my mind at once. I'm sure a million more were going through Juri's at that time. The one that stuck out the most was the horrific 'just like my mother' that just couldn't leave me.
"Ruki," she trembled, "do you know what this means?"
I didn't want to say anything, for fear that Juri would get pissed off at any response. So I stood there in silence, slowly shaking my head.
"Well, besides a billion other things, my parents.what will they think?"
Still silent, I made no reaction to her question.
"Ruki, please talk to me!" she pleaded.
I finally spoke up, though I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to say. "Juri, I honestly don't know what to say. This is like déjà vu with my mother, although I can't say I experienced it myself, but if you need help in any way, I will assist you in any possible means."
Juri put her head down and started to cry. "Ruki, don't leave me. Please don't."
I had no choice but to pull her into a hug. It was my job as a friend after all. "Why don't you call Takato, maybe he can help you?"
She shook her head. "No. I don't want anything to do with Takato. He brought this to me, but it's all my fault."
This was making me sick. I couldn't stand to see her cry like this. "Don't worry Juri" was all I could tell her, which was idiotic and weak of me.
I decided to leave her alone then and go back to Ryo's home, a move I'm sure I would regret someday.
****************
I arrived at Ryo's house around 11:00. Taking out the groceries, I kept the fixings of a sandwich out on the counter, as I would have one for lunch.
Even though I haven't even lived a full day here, I already had gotten used to living around in Ryo's shack. I knew where the cups were, where the assorted groceries went, and all the rooms in the house, though it was very big. After putting the groceries away, I helped myself to a sandwich, since Ryo said to make myself at home.
Realizing that I hadn't seen the features behind his house, I decided to take a walk through the hills. I liked walking around anyway; it gave me a chance to get rid of all my stresses and focus on better things on life, a habit I wouldn't even think of doing five years ago.
It was nice outside; the temperature was mild and cool, and there was a light breeze of wind as I looked around.
The guy had a swimming pool. A huge pool, I might add, and I considered swimming in it later on this afternoon, when it got warmer.
It got moderately hotter as I walked through the forest-like hills, which reminded me of the old digital world's forest. Deserted but beautiful.
I sat down on a nearby log and took a break from walking for a while. Life can be beautiful, with my friendship with Takato and the others; it could also be ugly, namely what's going on with Juri. I really hoped she was doing ok. I mean, of course she wasn't doing ok, but I wanted her to feel at least a little bit good.
I decided to head back around 1:30 after sticking around the forest for a couple of hours. I knew where to go if I needed to be alone; this very spot would do.
It was a short walk back to Ryo's house, and by then it started to get muggy outside. With the pool in my sight, I decided to go swimming.
I raced upstairs and looked in my suitcase. There it held the purple bikini outfit that I didn't wear much. I guess I wasn't into modeling my body for others, but then when you go back to the post-prom party. oh well. Plus, no one was around this swimming pool, so I got changed into my outfit and looked in the mirror. I have a slightly skinny but moderate body shaped ironically like a model, and I must admit I looked good in this bikini if I do say so myself.
I jumped right into the pool, and it felt nice. It wasn't too cold, but it wasn't too hot. I swayed to the edge of the pool as I rested my arms on the side and closed my eyes, trying to relax. I was feeling a bit tired, and the water felt good against my body-
******************
"Having fun just resting there?" The brown-haired boy sneaked up to the orange-haired girl right behind her. She jumped back, surprised that he had already come home, nonetheless already in his swim trunks.
"Ryo! Um.hey." Ruki shivered, turning around to face him.
"Hey."
"You're here early," she pointed out.
"Yeah, my boss let me off early." Ryo couldn't help but stare at Ruki, whose beautiful figure had captured his eyes very abruptly.
Ruki, however, noticed this quickly and turned her back at Ryo. "Please don't look at me like that. It makes me feel uncomfortable," she shot.
Ryo sort of spaced out for a second, then soon regained his senses. "Oh sorry," he said, looking away. "I just kind of spaced out."
"Mm-hmm," was all Ruki replied.
"So, what did you do today?"
Ruki turned back around again and looked at Ryo. "Well, I got your groceries, but that's not the main thing. You remember Juri, right?"
He nodded. "Depressed girl. D-reaper. How could I forget?"
"Um.yeah. Anyway, you're not going to believe this, but."
"But what?"
She bit her lip. "She's pregnant."
Ryo nearly fainted from the response. "You're kidding!"
"Serious."
"Holy shit."
"Yeah, so I visited her and gave her some words of wisdom, not that I would know."
"Actually, you do know, you were that girl that came out of a Juri act- alike."
"That is true. But still." she turned her back to him again and rested her arms on the side. "I don't really know how to deal with pregnancy until I myself carry a baby."
Ryo swam up to Ruki and put both his hands on her shoulders. "Ruki, I hope you don't make that mistake just like your mother and your friend did." He planted his lips lightly on the back of Ruki's head, giving her the impression that he would be just another one to protect her, like Takato and Jen already did.
*****************
Thanks to the following for reviewing my story:
Archforge Kim Hayes Sara Tinabedina Dark Light Angel Jen krn*kyutee
keisan
Um, sorry about chapter 7. Very confusing, isn't it? It's only going to get more complicated, so if you feel need to, e-mail me and I'll help you sort things out. Ok, as for the next chapter, I know that you can't really tell if you're pregnant even a day after when it all happens, but it's fanfiction, and it's my story, so if I have a duck and a rabbit fall in love, then so be it. But thankfully, I don't plan on interbreeding anytime soon. And to clear up krn*kyutee's misconceptions, it is a Jenruki, and it should stay that way throughout the story. And I know that I'm making Ryo...soft...sorry about that. The OOC bug has bitten me.
Check out my new story, "The Journey of the Destined!"
And as a last comment before I shut up and go on with the story, based on Archforge's observations, the whole "explaining the thing to Ruki's mother about holding back", that will come into play later on in the story.
Chapter 8: The Troubles of Pregnancy and Friendship
5:00 a.m.
I still couldn't get any sleep, and since it was about dawn, I decided to stay up.
I walked up to Ryo's balcony, overlooking the nice scenery. The sun had barely started to come up, and the rays illuminated the ground very nicely. Ryo must be lucky to live out here like this, making me wonder why my mother didn't pick a secluded area like this.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I turned around and saw Ryo, in his bathrobe with a cup of coffee, watching the sunrise. "You want some?"
"Oh, no thanks."
"I've always liked the outside environment that this world has given us." Oh no, now he's a green peace kind of guy. I listened intently anyhow, out of courtesy. "Just like the digital world. For the most parts, like what you guys saw, yeah, there was the barren deserts, and the ruins of old civilizations over there. But there are places like what we see before us that made the digital world so beautiful, it's just unfortunate that you weren't around long to see it."
He continued. "I guess, love is like that too. There are its beautiful parts, its ugly parts, but when it goes all together, you learn to admire it and get used to it."
I couldn't help but smile. Ryo sure had a way with words. If I wasn't with Jen...
No. I shook my head. I couldn't think that way about Ryo. Even if I broke up with Jenrya, I know he didn't think that way also. "Ryo," I started...
He looked at me. "What is it?"
I paused for a short minute. "Thank you...for letting me stay here," I blurted out.
He put his free hand on my shoulder. "Hey, any time."
****************
Ryo wasn't the best cooker, so we settled on Cheerios. I liked Cheerios, so I guess that was pretty cool. He also didn't cook much at home, so he usually went out for dinner. His checkbook held enough, getting it from his dad and all. Kind of sad that he has to waste it all on me.
I felt grubby afterwards. Taking a setting of clothes, I went into the bathroom and took a long shower. Guess what? The bathroom was clean as well. It gave me half a mind to think that Ryo tidied up the house for my visit. Then again, he was always perfect.
After about twenty minutes of hot water, my skin was getting pruney, so I got out. I took one of the available towels and dried myself. It felt good to be clean again; not just of dirt and smelliness, but also of that damn mother of mine. Uh...she needs to liven up a little. Not like I screwed Jen. Well, I was pretty close to...
I got dressed quickly and walked out. Ryo came to me with a piece of paper, which I was not completely sure of it's contents.
"Your first errand," Ryo said to me, smiling.
"Oh great."
"Yeah. Um. grocery shopping won't take long. Here's a list of items and fifty dollars." He presented me the paper and the moolah, which I snatched out of his hands. "Well, while you take care of that, I have to go to work. Go ahead and take care of what you need to do personally. I'll be back at around 3:00." He gave me a hug, which I assumed meant 'good-bye', and he hopped in his car, and soon enough, he drove off down the road.
Well. Might as well take care of business. I jumped in my own vehicle and drove away.
****************
It was a long drive back to the city. I hoped I knew how to get back to the house by myself. So, I made a mental note of where to go and how to get back. Before long, I had reached the grocery store and decided to finish the errand first.
I didn't look at the grocery list until now. Eggplants? What the hell does he want with eggplants? Figuring by the sheer quantity of the list and his lack of consistency of eating at home, I thought this ought to handle him for the next couple of months.
At least while the milk isn't spoiled.
*****************
I had almost finished Ryo's list of items when I came to the last piece of merchandise: allergy tablets. Ok.
I strolled down aisle seven looking for the tablets when I came across a fellow friend of mine, rummaging through some products.
"Hey, Juri," I voiced to her. She felt my presence immediately and hid whatever she had behind her back. "What's that?"
"Um.nothing," she said innocently. Weird, she had something behind her back.
"Come on, let me see," I requested her.
She paused for a minute, not sure of whether or not to show me what she hid. Finally, she put her hands out and presented to me what she had been planning to purchase.
"Pregnancy Test Tabs?" I couldn't believe what she had! Now I know why she didn't want to show me. "Don't tell me."
Juri nodded slowly. "I'm not sure about it yet, but I have a good idea about it. Ruki, I don't know what's going to happen to me if I am pregnant!"
"Yeah, but shouldn't you wait a week or two before you test?"
"These things are special products," she said, as if advertising the damn thing. "They work after 24 hours of the conception, if there is one."
"Oh my God, Juri. Let me come with you to your house and test it out," I said. Hey, I made a commitment yesterday, all I'm doing is backing it up. If it weren't for the severeness of the situation, this would be exciting, maybe even. fun. But I'm not the one who may be pregnant; so my best bet was to shut the hell up. "Here, let's go get this purchased."
***************
As the cashier ran the items through the checkout stand, I couldn't help but worry about the poor girl behind me with the pregnancy test tabs to purchase. She's only seventeen, soon to be eighteen, and she damn sure isn't ready to have a child. I just hope the test turns out alright.
"That'll be $43.52," the guy behind the counter told me. I pulled out the fifty bucks Ryo gave me and handed it over to the dude. After he gave me the change, I pushed the cart to the end of the checkout station and waited for the girl behind me. She showed no face of emotion, just like.the events five years ago. I couldn't help but put on a depressed frown of my own, as if she was spreading the disease of gloominess around.
****************
6:00 a.m.
The alarm clock on my table ringed with happiness. I however, had different views on the day as I added another dent on the wall with the clock.
"Jenrya, get dressed. We're leaving in a half an hour," my mom told me.
"Alright," I said. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. My mother was still in the bedroom. "What's up?"
She gave me a stern look. Oh no. "Jen, last night, when you were gone with Ruki," shit, "your friend gave me a call and told about your happenings the other night after the prom."
Oh, dammit! Who was it that called my mother? Probably the same person who called Ruki's mother.
"What the hell were you thinking? Do you realize how close you were to ending your free life as you knew it?"
Yeah, but I couldn't help it. I was under Ruki's spell. At least, that's what I wanted to tell her, but all I could muster up was a "Yes, mother."
She groaned. "I don't know what to do with you." She thought for a moment, sure that she would issue a punishment to me, until she came to a conclusion. "You know what? You stay home today. I don't want you to leave this house while we're gone. Is that understood? Because if I find out that you leave, I swear to God I'll make sure you regretted getting together in the first place." She left in a storm of a mood.
Damn. What a weird mother. Punishing me by making me stay home. How stupid was that?
Ruki's mother and my mother said that 'a friend of mine' told them. I tried to narrow it down. The only friends I have were Ruki, Juri, and Takato. Of course Ruki wouldn't tell her mother; that would be stupid. Juri, well, Juri has enough problems as it stood.
That left Takato. It all suddenly made sense to me! Takato, the one who liked to do things like this. He didn't care what happened to Ruki and me; that asshole.
***************
Once my family left, I decided to make a little phone call to my good ol' buddy.
"Hello?"
"Takato, this is Jenrya. Is anybody home?"
Silence. "Nope. The bread shop is closed also."
"That's even better. Hold on while I go over there and kick your ass." I then hung up immediately, making him steam. The little punk; that was the second time he screwed things up with Ruki and me.
Not heeding the threat of my own mother, I raced out my house and headed towards Takato's. Knowing the guy, I'd bet money he had a bat in his possession, hiding behind the door.
******************
Sure enough, I was right. I opened the door to the bakery and found a wooden bat heading towards my leg. I jumped up in time and grabbed the bat from the guy's hands. While I had his hands, I twisted it enough to cause insurmountable pain in Takato's wrist without actually breaking it.
"Oh shit!"
Seeing that it was unnecessary to inflict further damage to Takato, I threw the bat across the room, making it inaccessible to the brown-haired boy. I sat on top of him and demanded answers.
"Alright, you big jerk, why did you do it?"
He choked out, "Do what?"
I grabbed his neck. "You know damn well what I'm talking about."
Takato struggled for a second before speaking up. "I.was.just doing.what.she said."
I let go of him abruptly. 'Doing what she said?' "Doing what who said?"
He paused. "Um, scratch that last remark-"
I grabbed his neck again, making him wince in more pain.
".R.i..k.a," he blurted. Again, I let go.
Ruki?
"Wait a minute. What the hell are you talking about?"
He coughed for a minute, trying to gain his breath. "Alright, I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but listen carefully, because I'll tell you, since you're my friend."
I got off of the boy, just to give him some air.
"Ok, I was the one who told Ruki's and your parents. But it wasn't on my free will. She told me to tell the parents."
"Alright." I said slowly, not believing a word. "Where's the reason in her telling you to say that to our parents?"
"It happened yesterday. While you and Juri were cooking breakfast at her house, I talked to Ruki. She wanted me to tell you about what happened at her house. Sure, there was a high risk, in that Ruki got kicked out of her house, but she did it for a reason. Ready for the kicker?"
I swallowed nervously and nodded.
"She doesn't want to be with you boyfriend-girlfriend-wise," He concluded, looking away from me and out the window. "It's too big a risk on her mom's relationship with her.
I couldn't explain the emotions that were surging through my body at that time. I thought she liked me; she even said so herself. What the hell was going on? "But Takato, why?"
"Because," he explained, "She thought that if another prom night thing happened again, then you might find her pregnant one day, or a non-virgin. It all goes back to her mother's past."
"You don't understand, Takato. Why?"
"Jenrya, you are confusing. Listen. She told her mother to make an example of it. Mrs. Makino said herself that she doesn't want Ruki hanging out with you."
"Oh my God. Why didn't Ruki just tell this to me herself?"
"That's why she wanted me to tell your parents that. I guess she's afraid to talk to you. Remember, I wasn't supposed to tell you about this."
I gave an ironic laugh. Ruki? Afraid? Seems that she's not good at that kind of stuff after all. "Alright. I'll talk to her tomorrow at school, or you know what? I know where she's staying right now, so I'm going to call her later and take care of business."
"Oh boy, I expect fireworks over there."
"Damn sure you will." I put a hand on Takato's shoulder. "Takato, I'm sorry, again for what I just did. Is your hand ok?"
"I'll live. I guess I should also apologize for nearly taking your leg out with that bat."
"Forgiven."
*****************
So many things were going through my mind at once. Juri's possible pregnancy, Takato's promises to me about our 'plan,' and Jenrya. he's bound to figure it out sooner or later, I just hope he understands.
I pulled into Juri's driveway to go check with her test. It was the least that I could do as her friend, after all.
"So, Juri, the instructions is to drip some of your urine on the little tab thingy, '+' means positive, the one you don't want."
"No shit, Ruki," Juri replied. You could tell she wasn't particularly happy about the whole thing. I know I wouldn't either. I continued.
"And, '-' means negative, the good one," I concluded. Go in the bathroom and check it out."
"Ok." She started to head towards the bathroom.
"Oh, Juri?"
She turned around. "Yes, Ruki?"
I hesitated. "I hope for the best with you."
She smiled nervously, obviously trying to hide the anticipation of bad things. "Thanks."
Closing the door behind me, I laid down on her bed, trying to free my mind out of all this stress. I swear to God, I'll need a psychiatrist after this is all said and done.
Several minutes passed. It couldn't take that long, could it? I checked the box, which was still lying on the bed and read the directions over and over again. "May take up to 15 minutes to show results." Well. I guess that explains everything.
I wonder what would happen in both situations. Of course, if Juri was negative, then no baby, and she would hold off the sex button until she was at least married. On the other hand, positive, she'd be pregnant. Abortion? Hell no. If she'd ever consider that, I would slap some sense into her and tell her to raise the baby herself. Of course, I wouldn't be the one carrying the baby.
After five more minutes passed, the Door of Fate finally opened, revealing a disheartened and sad seventeen year old girl in the form of Juri Katou. Slowly, she held up the tab.
Positive.
Numerous things were going through my mind at once. I'm sure a million more were going through Juri's at that time. The one that stuck out the most was the horrific 'just like my mother' that just couldn't leave me.
"Ruki," she trembled, "do you know what this means?"
I didn't want to say anything, for fear that Juri would get pissed off at any response. So I stood there in silence, slowly shaking my head.
"Well, besides a billion other things, my parents.what will they think?"
Still silent, I made no reaction to her question.
"Ruki, please talk to me!" she pleaded.
I finally spoke up, though I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to say. "Juri, I honestly don't know what to say. This is like déjà vu with my mother, although I can't say I experienced it myself, but if you need help in any way, I will assist you in any possible means."
Juri put her head down and started to cry. "Ruki, don't leave me. Please don't."
I had no choice but to pull her into a hug. It was my job as a friend after all. "Why don't you call Takato, maybe he can help you?"
She shook her head. "No. I don't want anything to do with Takato. He brought this to me, but it's all my fault."
This was making me sick. I couldn't stand to see her cry like this. "Don't worry Juri" was all I could tell her, which was idiotic and weak of me.
I decided to leave her alone then and go back to Ryo's home, a move I'm sure I would regret someday.
****************
I arrived at Ryo's house around 11:00. Taking out the groceries, I kept the fixings of a sandwich out on the counter, as I would have one for lunch.
Even though I haven't even lived a full day here, I already had gotten used to living around in Ryo's shack. I knew where the cups were, where the assorted groceries went, and all the rooms in the house, though it was very big. After putting the groceries away, I helped myself to a sandwich, since Ryo said to make myself at home.
Realizing that I hadn't seen the features behind his house, I decided to take a walk through the hills. I liked walking around anyway; it gave me a chance to get rid of all my stresses and focus on better things on life, a habit I wouldn't even think of doing five years ago.
It was nice outside; the temperature was mild and cool, and there was a light breeze of wind as I looked around.
The guy had a swimming pool. A huge pool, I might add, and I considered swimming in it later on this afternoon, when it got warmer.
It got moderately hotter as I walked through the forest-like hills, which reminded me of the old digital world's forest. Deserted but beautiful.
I sat down on a nearby log and took a break from walking for a while. Life can be beautiful, with my friendship with Takato and the others; it could also be ugly, namely what's going on with Juri. I really hoped she was doing ok. I mean, of course she wasn't doing ok, but I wanted her to feel at least a little bit good.
I decided to head back around 1:30 after sticking around the forest for a couple of hours. I knew where to go if I needed to be alone; this very spot would do.
It was a short walk back to Ryo's house, and by then it started to get muggy outside. With the pool in my sight, I decided to go swimming.
I raced upstairs and looked in my suitcase. There it held the purple bikini outfit that I didn't wear much. I guess I wasn't into modeling my body for others, but then when you go back to the post-prom party. oh well. Plus, no one was around this swimming pool, so I got changed into my outfit and looked in the mirror. I have a slightly skinny but moderate body shaped ironically like a model, and I must admit I looked good in this bikini if I do say so myself.
I jumped right into the pool, and it felt nice. It wasn't too cold, but it wasn't too hot. I swayed to the edge of the pool as I rested my arms on the side and closed my eyes, trying to relax. I was feeling a bit tired, and the water felt good against my body-
******************
"Having fun just resting there?" The brown-haired boy sneaked up to the orange-haired girl right behind her. She jumped back, surprised that he had already come home, nonetheless already in his swim trunks.
"Ryo! Um.hey." Ruki shivered, turning around to face him.
"Hey."
"You're here early," she pointed out.
"Yeah, my boss let me off early." Ryo couldn't help but stare at Ruki, whose beautiful figure had captured his eyes very abruptly.
Ruki, however, noticed this quickly and turned her back at Ryo. "Please don't look at me like that. It makes me feel uncomfortable," she shot.
Ryo sort of spaced out for a second, then soon regained his senses. "Oh sorry," he said, looking away. "I just kind of spaced out."
"Mm-hmm," was all Ruki replied.
"So, what did you do today?"
Ruki turned back around again and looked at Ryo. "Well, I got your groceries, but that's not the main thing. You remember Juri, right?"
He nodded. "Depressed girl. D-reaper. How could I forget?"
"Um.yeah. Anyway, you're not going to believe this, but."
"But what?"
She bit her lip. "She's pregnant."
Ryo nearly fainted from the response. "You're kidding!"
"Serious."
"Holy shit."
"Yeah, so I visited her and gave her some words of wisdom, not that I would know."
"Actually, you do know, you were that girl that came out of a Juri act- alike."
"That is true. But still." she turned her back to him again and rested her arms on the side. "I don't really know how to deal with pregnancy until I myself carry a baby."
Ryo swam up to Ruki and put both his hands on her shoulders. "Ruki, I hope you don't make that mistake just like your mother and your friend did." He planted his lips lightly on the back of Ruki's head, giving her the impression that he would be just another one to protect her, like Takato and Jen already did.
*****************