"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.
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!
