Disclaimer: Do I look Asian to you? Although some people have thought that…. But NO, I do not own Angel Sanctuary.

"Fluff" - Speaking
Fluff - Thinking


Chapter 6 - Motherly Love

In a small apartment in Tokyo, a red-haired, middle-aged woman was talking in the phone.
"You understand, then? Good, then I will see you in a week."
Mrs. Mudou hung up the phone and smiled bitterly. Soon… Soon you will come back to me, Sara…

In another apartment, two teenagers ran around, chasing each other.
"Hah! Got you!" the older one exclaimed.
Sara wiggled in her lover's arms. "You're cheating!"
Setsuna grinned. "Yeah? How come?"
His sister frowned a bit but then beamed at him. "Because, you're using the face that you're stronger than me against me!"
When Setsuna laughed, Sara attacked his sides with her fingers. He immediately started to squirm, laughing his head off.
"No, please stop! You're cheating!" the words were barely heard because Setsuna laughed so much.
"Well, then we're even, aren't we?" Sara grinned. She liked that Setsuna was stronger than her – it made her feel protected – but when he used it against her, she used her 'secret weapon': The fact that Setsuna was extremely ticklish.
As for now, said boy lay on the floor with tears running down his face after laughing so hard.

"I give up, I give up," he panted.
His sweet little angel (at least when she wanted to be…) was smiling victoriously, standing over him. With a smirk, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down into his lap.
They smiled at each other and rubbed their noses. Setsuna kissed Sara on the cheek.
"You know I really love you, don't you?" he gave a contented smile.
"Of course I know you do, you baka. I love you too." She gave him a light kiss on the nose.

"And now we've got the proof of our love too," she grinned and put her hands on her slightly rounded belly.
Suddenly Sara sat up straight in his lap. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. "Is something wrong with the babies?"
His sister merely smiled and rubbed her stomach. "They kicked… I felt them kick!" At that moment, Sara's smile could have rivalled the sun.
Setsuna grinned and put his hands too on her belly, feeling the small movements of his children inside of her; it was an amazing feeling to be able to actually feel that there were living beings in there.

My children… No – our children, he thought. He could barely grasp the fact that in about twenty-two weeks, they were going to be parents – to twins, no less. According to the society they were barely more than kids themselves, but after all that they had gone through they had matured more than one could've expected. Neither of them felt that they had something in common with the people in their own age anymore; sometimes it felt like they had missed out on something, but at least they still had each other – and for them, that was more than enough.

Who need friends that are full of prejudices? I have the love of my life in my arms and we're going to have a family soon – life can't get much better than this. Setsuna smiled and held Sara tighter. "Promise me you'll never leave me?"

Sara looked a bit confused but smiled and kissed him. "Of course I'll never leave you. I love you more than anything – why would I ever want to leave you?"
Her partner relaxed somewhat and kissed her again. As they mumbled sweet nothings to each other, they were unaware of the shadows that lurked just around the corner.

The day after, Setsuna stood in the door saying goodbye to his lover, as it was time for him to go to work again.
"Do you have to?" When Sara looked at him with her big, pleading, golden eyes, Setsuna almost agreed with staying at home - but sadly enough they really needed the money…
He hardened himself and gave her a peck on her forehead. "I'm sorry, but you know that I have to go", he gave her one more kiss and left their apartment.

Sara sighed deeply. "Now what? I've got absolutely nothing to do."
She wandered around in the apartment a bit, wondering what she could do to while away some time. Ever since the beginning of her pregnancy, she had to find something – anything – to do; she got restless if she hadn't something to do all the time.
After about an hour of wandering in circles, Sara was practically climbing the walls when the doorbell rang.
She frowned. Who could come here now? We're not expecting anybody…

As she opened the door, she froze.
"Hello again, Sara", the redheaded woman said and smiled.
"Mom…" The teenager's breath got caught in her throat.
An unknown man in a suit turned to Mrs. Mudou. "Is this the one?"
"Yes, this is my daughter."
At the confirmation, the man took a hold of the young girl's wrist.
"What? What are you doing!" Sara shrieked.
"You, young lady, are coming with us. Your run away from home ends here."
"Let me go! I'm not going back again! I am home!" she tried to get a hold of something, anything that could help her out.
"Until you're eighteen, your home is with your mother," the man said with a calm voice.
"My home is with Setsuna!"

Mrs. Mudou slapped her daughter on the cheek. "You're coming home again, and that's final. There's nothing that you or he can do about it", she said with an emotionless voice.
Sara stared at the woman she at one time had called mother and slowly said: "Maybe I have to go with you, but the only home I've got, is right here. Your place will never, ever be home to me again", her eyes burned with passion.
Her mother laughed bitterly. "We will see about that…" She gave the suited man a nod and he led Sara out of the apartment, without even giving her the chance to pack her things.

Setsuna! No! We promised we never would be apart again! Help me… Setsuna!

The man that led Sara out of the apartment soon found out that it wasn't as easy as he thought to 'bring back' a teenage girl: she kicked and screamed all the way to the car, making the neighbours look out of their doors and windows. Even though the young girl apparently did not want to go with the unknown man, no one made a move to help her.
Sara struggled as if her life depended on it, but a small, fifteen year old girl doesn't have much of a chance against a full-grown man. He more or less tossed her into the car. Instinctively she protected her belly and yelled on the top of her lungs: "Are you out of your mind! I'm pregnant, you son of a bitch, be careful!" The man didn't answer, he just glared at her and rubbed one of the many bruises she had given him.

Sara snorted at him and turned to her mother. "Mom, why are you doing this?"Mrs. Mudou thanked the social worker for his help and started the car before she answered.
"It's all right now, honey, he won't be coming anywhere near you ever again."
Sara looked at her mother with dread. Oh no…"Mom… What have you done?"
"I'm just taking you home again, sweetie. That awful… thing can't do anything about the laws. Until you're eighteen, you belong to me."
"I belong to nobody but Set…", the young girl's sentence was cut short when her mother gave her another slap.
"Don't ever say that name in my presence again!" Mrs. Mudou eyes were full of rage.
Her daughter lifted a trembling hand to her aching cheek and looked at her mother with big eyes. "Why shouldn't I? He's your son…"
"That person is not my son. I don't have a son!"

By now, Sara was beginning to panic. She knew very well that their mother didn't approve of the sibling's love for each other and never had loved her son as much as her daughter, but she never had driven it this far. It seemed like their mother had finally snapped.
The golden-haired teen leaned back in her seat and gazed out of the window. There isn't anything I can do now. All I can do is 'go with the flow' and hope that I somehow will find my way back to him… She sighed deeply and a few tears trickled down from her beautiful eyes. Please help me, Setsuna…

As the blond teenager put the box down, he suddenly jerked his head up."Sara…?" he mumbled to himself. He could have sworn that he had heard her calling for his help, but with a shake of his head he continued to pile up the boxes.
Please help me, Setsuna… His lover's voice whispered to him as if she was in the same room.
Worry started to fill the young man's body. No… Not again... Sara!
Setsuna rushed in to his boss, mumbling something about family problems, and ran all the way home. After about half an hour he arrived at his destination; he pulled the door open so hard that it almost lifted from its hinges.

"Sara! Sara, where are you!" he yelled.
A careful knocking on the still open door interrupted his frantic search for his girlfriend.
"What!"
The woman jerked a bit at his outburst, but took a deep breath and turned to him. "You're searching for the young girl that lived here, right?" at Setsuna's nod, she continued, "A man in a suit and a red-haired woman was here and…"
"A red-haired woman… When were they here? Where did they take her?" the questions spurted out of him.
"About an hour ago. I don't know where they took her, but she was forced into a car with the woman. I'm impressed they managed to do it though, I've never seen anyone fighting so hard to get away before."
"Why didn't anyone stop them? If she didn't want to go with them, why didn't you stop them!" Setsuna's voice cracked and he fell to the floor crying.
His neighbour whispered an apology and quietly closed the door after her.

A low grumble started in the young man's throat, making its way out it had grown into nothing more than a howl.
Setsuna's howl of sadness was heard all over the block, and his neighbours all bowed their heads in shame over having done nothing. The young boy's voice was so full of grief and anguish that many couldn't help their own tears from falling.

After a while, Setsuna started to somewhat calm down. He took a deep breath and with a determined look, he said: "Don't worry Sara; I'm going to take you back. I promised you that we would never be apart again, and that's one promise I'm definitely going to keep."


AN: Gomen nasai! Crouch of the Wild Tiger a'la Ranma ½ style
I'm sorry that it have taken me so long to update this. My muses just flew away for a while, but now they're back. Let's just hope that they stay put this time.

Baka: Fool, idiot.

Jea Kinnaran: Thank you. blushes I was really, really glad when I read your review. To read such praise really made my day. Heck, I think it even made my month! grins

Don't forget to use that button down there now, folks!