When they arrived at home, Eiri pulled out her key and unlocked the door
that she was surprised to find locked. She walked in and slipped off her
shoes and coat, hanging the coat on a peg in the entry hall. Kei let out a
sigh as she followed her, carefully taking off her shoes before stepping
in. She hugged Eiri strongly before the two went to look for Adam.
Eiri looked around. "Adam? Are you here?" She walked over to the door leading to the garage and looked in. His car was gone. She turned around to Kei. "He'll probably be home in a few minutes. Why don't you make yourself comfortable? Would you like something warm to drink?"
"Sure, thanks!" Kei answered with a smile. "You mind if I help myself?"
"Sure, that's fine." Eiri said, smiling. "I'm feeling a bit sick... I'll just sit in the living room."
"Alright, I'll be back soon." Kei answered before going for the kitchen, walking carefully as not to step on a cat that was lying down on the way.
Eiri sat on the couch, and within seconds cats were fighting over who got to sit on her lap, and one kitten who always sat on her head had already taken its spot.
"Eiri-chan, do you have chocolate bars anywhere?" Kei cried from the kitchen.
"I think that I just bought some... check in the pantry, front of the second shelf."
/Pan-try-front-of-se-cond-shelf.../ Kei said to herself as her hands traced the air looking for it. "Yeaown, it's here! Thanks!" she got one and dropped it into the cup of cocoa she had made herself, then got back to the living room. She smiled sweetly as she saw the cats lying on Eiri. "Come to think of it, you have a lot of babies already, ne, dear?"
"Yes... and I love all of them!" Eiri said happily. As if on cue, one of the smaller cats reached out her head from the couch behind Eiri and rubbed the side of Eiri's face with her white cheek. Eiri kissed the cat on the nose and smiled, then looked back at Kei.
"It's so peaceful, watching you kitties like this..." Kei took a place on the floor next to Eiri, which amazingly didn't disturb the cats.
One of the cats stretched out across Eiri's lap, and another moved to make room for it. The one that moved looked lazily at Kei and then reached out to lick Kei's nose.
She smiled happily at that, leaning so it would be easier for the kitty would to lick her, then kissing its nose in response.
"They were the only beings around me while Papa was working... and after he died... and the times that Caomei had to go home... before Adam came."
"You sound like you were pretty lonely..." Kei said mostly to herself before sipping her cocoa.
"I was extremely lonely... I stopped seeing my doctor after Papa died... so I didn't have much contact with the outside world.... Natsu never came to visit... so I just sat here... sometimes thinking about killing myself..." without disturbing the cats, she pulled up the sleeves on her sweaters to reveal long scars on her wrists. "Sometimes trying..."
Kei frowned at that. If Eiri weren't sounding so sad, she'd have been able to appreciate the beauty of her scars. Instead, she just kissed her wrists, words unnecessary at the moment.
Eiri grinned at Kei. "But I'm fine now." she whispered, before looking at the door as Adam walked in, holding a bag of groceries.
"I'm happy you are." Kei answered softly efore turning to Adam. "Ah, at short last..."
Adam smiled sweetly at Eiri and Kei. "Is this a friend from school?" Adam asked Eiri as he sat down the grocery bag on the floor. As he walked over and sat on the couch, a cat walked over and sat in his lap, curled up and purred.
"Un!" Kei nodded. "I'm Kei, nice to meet you." she said, bowing slightly as she was sitting down.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Kei." he said, bowing his head at Kei.
Kei smiled at Adam, then turned to Eiri, speaking in Japanese. "Honey, I think we better start it now. The sooner we finish this, the better, ne?"
Eiri nodded slightly. "I don't think I should have a baby. I'm going to give it a week or two, but I think it will end up being better if there is no baby. I'm going to talk to sister when she comes back from Aomori in two weeks, and if she allows me, I'm going to give up the baby."
"So... you don't want to have the baby?" Adam said, surprised. "You seemed pretty confident earlier..." Adam tried to look surprised at her comment. Eiri smiled at him. "But... I just don't know..." she continued. "I mean, I am pretty young, and a child would be a great bother..."
Adam squeezed her hand. "It's your choice."
Eiri looked at him. "I am going to give it more time though. I will seriously consider it, and get back to you in about two months." she said quickly, blinking a lot as she said it.
"Not wanting to be pessimistic, Eiri, but months might be too much time." Kei said as she felt her friend was neglecting something. "In months, you can get too connected to the child for your own good."
Eiri focused her attention on Kei. "I just... don't want to make decisions too prematurely... I might end up regretting it."
"I understand, but I think if you decide too late you may regret as well."
She sighed loudly. "I don't know what to do... I want to let it play out and see what happens, but I don't want this to last if it is bad..."
"I'm quite sure it will be." Kei answered, looking down to the ground. "If anything, you already have enough to worry about."
"But I would feel so guilty, Kojirou-kun..." Eiri murmured in Japanese, so that Adam wouldn't pick up on her use of -kun. "But I don't want to ruin my own life..."
"I know you'd feel guilty... I feel guilty already just telling you that. But as you said yourself, you can't ruin your life. As selfish as it is, you have to think about yourself."
"But..." Eiri stopped abruptly. "You're right."
"And I wish I weren't..." Kojirou answered before a heavy sigh, letting his body fall on the floor...
Eiri thought for a moment. "But... Adam is studying to be a doctor. With my inheritance and his salary as a doctor, it will be more than enough to cover the costs of caring for a baby!" Eiri's face lit up, then went dim again. "But I'd have to be out of school... and I would alienate all of my friends..."
"Don't worry about the second part..." Kojirou sat up. "I, at least, will always come to visit you."
She smiled at him. "You're such a great friend..." she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
Kojirou wrapped his arms around Eiri and softly rubbed his face against hers. "It's a pleasure."
"I like babies..." Eiri said, finally in English again. She put one arm around Kojirou and pulled him to her in a half-hug. "Kei-chan has helped me find words. I will try this for a little while whilst abortion is an option. If it proves too difficult, then it will be over. If I decide to go forward with it, then so be it. My true friends will stay with me." Upon saying this, Eiri pressed the side of her face to the side of Kojirou's face and smiled.
Adam pulled her to him. "I'm glad you made your own decision in this matter." He kissed her.
Kojirou stood up, leaving almost unnoticed as he went to play with the cats. He figured Eiri would want some time alone with Adam.
_________
Two and a half weeks later, Eiri had worked out everything with Adam. Life was still random, as Caomei had not yet returned to live at the Tsugoyaki residence. Natsumi, however, had returned, and the uncomfortable aura surrounding Eiri and Adam in her presence must have been stifling. Eiri had convinced herself that a baby was not the right thing to do, and therefore decided to have an abortion, but one that required guardian consent so that she could feel at peace with her sister. After school one day, Eiri sent her sister a message via her NAVI to meet her at a cafe.
The younger sister went straight to the Cafe du Soliel after school, an odd restaurant and tea room that was completely French-language. The students learning French at Tokyo Daigaku usually frequented the place, along with lower-level French students from Eiri's school. It was the perfect place for the girls to meet, as most of the people in the French classes did not learn English and could not understand what they were saying in English.
Eiri looked up at Natsumi as the walked over to the cafe table. Natsumi still had her nursing outfit on and was clutching her briefcase in front of her. As she got to the table, she laid her briefcase down with her NAVI on top of it before sitting down herself. She smiled softly at her sister and reached out to pat the younger girl's head. In response, Eiri smiled back.
"What do you want to talk about, sweetie?" Natsu said in French, retracting her hand.
Eiri blushed. Her hands fumbled for a piece of paper in her wallet and she stood. She walked over to her sister and put out of paper in front of her.
"Getting a bit pudgy, are you?" Natsumi giggled, poking Eiri's stomach softly. "Sorry I haven't been around for the last month..."
Eiri kept her eyes trained on the paper, leading Natsumi to look at it. She gasped as she read it.
"Abortion permission form?" Natsumi choked out. "Eiri, why didn't you tell me that you're pregnant?"
"Please, Natsu... I need you to sign that, as my legal guardian..." Eiri murmured, leaning down to hug her sister around the shoulders.
"Eiri, I can't let you do this. It's against my beliefs." Natsu said, ripping up the form. "You know that I'm a *devout* Roman-Catholic. You may be Shinto like Father, but your sisters took after Mother."
"No... please, Natsu, it will be too hard!" Eiri cried.
"Hun, you should have thought about that before you were loose with..." she paused. "Who is the father?"
Eiri walked around and sat in her own chair. She put her head in her hands.
"...Adam." she murmured as softly as possible.
"Adam?! The guy who is living with you?" Natsumi screamed.
"Oh, sister, please, please don't make him leave!" Eiri said as she began to cry.
Natsumi sat stoicly. She stared directly at her sister.
"I'll be going back to Vermont. Today. You can work it out with your lover." she said with a hissing quality in her voice. She slid a hand- written card over to Eiri. "Contact me in a few months, and we'll discuss this. I don't want to hear ANYTHING from you until then!" she said, fuming.
Quickly, Natsumi got up and grabbed her things, then spun around. Eiri watched with tear-filled eyes as her tall sister faded into the crowds.
Eiri looked around. "Adam? Are you here?" She walked over to the door leading to the garage and looked in. His car was gone. She turned around to Kei. "He'll probably be home in a few minutes. Why don't you make yourself comfortable? Would you like something warm to drink?"
"Sure, thanks!" Kei answered with a smile. "You mind if I help myself?"
"Sure, that's fine." Eiri said, smiling. "I'm feeling a bit sick... I'll just sit in the living room."
"Alright, I'll be back soon." Kei answered before going for the kitchen, walking carefully as not to step on a cat that was lying down on the way.
Eiri sat on the couch, and within seconds cats were fighting over who got to sit on her lap, and one kitten who always sat on her head had already taken its spot.
"Eiri-chan, do you have chocolate bars anywhere?" Kei cried from the kitchen.
"I think that I just bought some... check in the pantry, front of the second shelf."
/Pan-try-front-of-se-cond-shelf.../ Kei said to herself as her hands traced the air looking for it. "Yeaown, it's here! Thanks!" she got one and dropped it into the cup of cocoa she had made herself, then got back to the living room. She smiled sweetly as she saw the cats lying on Eiri. "Come to think of it, you have a lot of babies already, ne, dear?"
"Yes... and I love all of them!" Eiri said happily. As if on cue, one of the smaller cats reached out her head from the couch behind Eiri and rubbed the side of Eiri's face with her white cheek. Eiri kissed the cat on the nose and smiled, then looked back at Kei.
"It's so peaceful, watching you kitties like this..." Kei took a place on the floor next to Eiri, which amazingly didn't disturb the cats.
One of the cats stretched out across Eiri's lap, and another moved to make room for it. The one that moved looked lazily at Kei and then reached out to lick Kei's nose.
She smiled happily at that, leaning so it would be easier for the kitty would to lick her, then kissing its nose in response.
"They were the only beings around me while Papa was working... and after he died... and the times that Caomei had to go home... before Adam came."
"You sound like you were pretty lonely..." Kei said mostly to herself before sipping her cocoa.
"I was extremely lonely... I stopped seeing my doctor after Papa died... so I didn't have much contact with the outside world.... Natsu never came to visit... so I just sat here... sometimes thinking about killing myself..." without disturbing the cats, she pulled up the sleeves on her sweaters to reveal long scars on her wrists. "Sometimes trying..."
Kei frowned at that. If Eiri weren't sounding so sad, she'd have been able to appreciate the beauty of her scars. Instead, she just kissed her wrists, words unnecessary at the moment.
Eiri grinned at Kei. "But I'm fine now." she whispered, before looking at the door as Adam walked in, holding a bag of groceries.
"I'm happy you are." Kei answered softly efore turning to Adam. "Ah, at short last..."
Adam smiled sweetly at Eiri and Kei. "Is this a friend from school?" Adam asked Eiri as he sat down the grocery bag on the floor. As he walked over and sat on the couch, a cat walked over and sat in his lap, curled up and purred.
"Un!" Kei nodded. "I'm Kei, nice to meet you." she said, bowing slightly as she was sitting down.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Kei." he said, bowing his head at Kei.
Kei smiled at Adam, then turned to Eiri, speaking in Japanese. "Honey, I think we better start it now. The sooner we finish this, the better, ne?"
Eiri nodded slightly. "I don't think I should have a baby. I'm going to give it a week or two, but I think it will end up being better if there is no baby. I'm going to talk to sister when she comes back from Aomori in two weeks, and if she allows me, I'm going to give up the baby."
"So... you don't want to have the baby?" Adam said, surprised. "You seemed pretty confident earlier..." Adam tried to look surprised at her comment. Eiri smiled at him. "But... I just don't know..." she continued. "I mean, I am pretty young, and a child would be a great bother..."
Adam squeezed her hand. "It's your choice."
Eiri looked at him. "I am going to give it more time though. I will seriously consider it, and get back to you in about two months." she said quickly, blinking a lot as she said it.
"Not wanting to be pessimistic, Eiri, but months might be too much time." Kei said as she felt her friend was neglecting something. "In months, you can get too connected to the child for your own good."
Eiri focused her attention on Kei. "I just... don't want to make decisions too prematurely... I might end up regretting it."
"I understand, but I think if you decide too late you may regret as well."
She sighed loudly. "I don't know what to do... I want to let it play out and see what happens, but I don't want this to last if it is bad..."
"I'm quite sure it will be." Kei answered, looking down to the ground. "If anything, you already have enough to worry about."
"But I would feel so guilty, Kojirou-kun..." Eiri murmured in Japanese, so that Adam wouldn't pick up on her use of -kun. "But I don't want to ruin my own life..."
"I know you'd feel guilty... I feel guilty already just telling you that. But as you said yourself, you can't ruin your life. As selfish as it is, you have to think about yourself."
"But..." Eiri stopped abruptly. "You're right."
"And I wish I weren't..." Kojirou answered before a heavy sigh, letting his body fall on the floor...
Eiri thought for a moment. "But... Adam is studying to be a doctor. With my inheritance and his salary as a doctor, it will be more than enough to cover the costs of caring for a baby!" Eiri's face lit up, then went dim again. "But I'd have to be out of school... and I would alienate all of my friends..."
"Don't worry about the second part..." Kojirou sat up. "I, at least, will always come to visit you."
She smiled at him. "You're such a great friend..." she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
Kojirou wrapped his arms around Eiri and softly rubbed his face against hers. "It's a pleasure."
"I like babies..." Eiri said, finally in English again. She put one arm around Kojirou and pulled him to her in a half-hug. "Kei-chan has helped me find words. I will try this for a little while whilst abortion is an option. If it proves too difficult, then it will be over. If I decide to go forward with it, then so be it. My true friends will stay with me." Upon saying this, Eiri pressed the side of her face to the side of Kojirou's face and smiled.
Adam pulled her to him. "I'm glad you made your own decision in this matter." He kissed her.
Kojirou stood up, leaving almost unnoticed as he went to play with the cats. He figured Eiri would want some time alone with Adam.
_________
Two and a half weeks later, Eiri had worked out everything with Adam. Life was still random, as Caomei had not yet returned to live at the Tsugoyaki residence. Natsumi, however, had returned, and the uncomfortable aura surrounding Eiri and Adam in her presence must have been stifling. Eiri had convinced herself that a baby was not the right thing to do, and therefore decided to have an abortion, but one that required guardian consent so that she could feel at peace with her sister. After school one day, Eiri sent her sister a message via her NAVI to meet her at a cafe.
The younger sister went straight to the Cafe du Soliel after school, an odd restaurant and tea room that was completely French-language. The students learning French at Tokyo Daigaku usually frequented the place, along with lower-level French students from Eiri's school. It was the perfect place for the girls to meet, as most of the people in the French classes did not learn English and could not understand what they were saying in English.
Eiri looked up at Natsumi as the walked over to the cafe table. Natsumi still had her nursing outfit on and was clutching her briefcase in front of her. As she got to the table, she laid her briefcase down with her NAVI on top of it before sitting down herself. She smiled softly at her sister and reached out to pat the younger girl's head. In response, Eiri smiled back.
"What do you want to talk about, sweetie?" Natsu said in French, retracting her hand.
Eiri blushed. Her hands fumbled for a piece of paper in her wallet and she stood. She walked over to her sister and put out of paper in front of her.
"Getting a bit pudgy, are you?" Natsumi giggled, poking Eiri's stomach softly. "Sorry I haven't been around for the last month..."
Eiri kept her eyes trained on the paper, leading Natsumi to look at it. She gasped as she read it.
"Abortion permission form?" Natsumi choked out. "Eiri, why didn't you tell me that you're pregnant?"
"Please, Natsu... I need you to sign that, as my legal guardian..." Eiri murmured, leaning down to hug her sister around the shoulders.
"Eiri, I can't let you do this. It's against my beliefs." Natsu said, ripping up the form. "You know that I'm a *devout* Roman-Catholic. You may be Shinto like Father, but your sisters took after Mother."
"No... please, Natsu, it will be too hard!" Eiri cried.
"Hun, you should have thought about that before you were loose with..." she paused. "Who is the father?"
Eiri walked around and sat in her own chair. She put her head in her hands.
"...Adam." she murmured as softly as possible.
"Adam?! The guy who is living with you?" Natsumi screamed.
"Oh, sister, please, please don't make him leave!" Eiri said as she began to cry.
Natsumi sat stoicly. She stared directly at her sister.
"I'll be going back to Vermont. Today. You can work it out with your lover." she said with a hissing quality in her voice. She slid a hand- written card over to Eiri. "Contact me in a few months, and we'll discuss this. I don't want to hear ANYTHING from you until then!" she said, fuming.
Quickly, Natsumi got up and grabbed her things, then spun around. Eiri watched with tear-filled eyes as her tall sister faded into the crowds.