Part 2: Shocking Feelings
San Diego, California
"Try not to concentrate too much on the form," Chase advised.
He couldn't see Megumi's expression from beneath her mask. Both of their attire consisted of white gloves, jacket, pants, and masks that covered their heads completely.
Earlier that morning, he had directed them to a portion of Balboa Park away from dancing hula troupes and Tai Chi practitioners.
"Isn't this what all great masters tell their students? To focus?"
He grinned beneath his own mask. "True. But if you spend too much time thinking about how you look, you'll forget that this is a fighting sport."
"All right…"
"Fight me with what you've learned so far."
After a few moments, Megumi moved forward, her foil glinting in the sunlight. Her attacks weren't at the usual speed he was used to fighting against, but she was still learning. And she was a fast learner. Her hand eye coordination was excellent, and she had no problem familiarizing herself with the footwork. It hadn't taken her very long to learn to maneuver. He wondered if she was a dancer. She certainly looked fit enough to be one. Then he recalled her observing the hula troupe a few weeks ago.
"Do you dance the hula?" he asked suddenly.
She paused.
"I asked you a question, I didn't tell you to stop."
He could have sworn he heard her tsk. She resumed her movements, the foil moving back and forth.
"Yes, I do," she finally answered.
So that explained why she hadn't made too many complaints about the footwork. Most of the people he taught had complained about sore legs. He didn't know much about hula, but it seemed to require a lot of stamina and strength, particularly in the legs.
He observed her movements – precise, graceful, and powerful, if she was given more instruction. Frowning, he quickly flicked his foil at hers, nearly causing her to lose her grip.
"Did I do something wrong?" Megumi asked.
"Here, let's try something new…" Chase lowered his foil. "Forget about form, placement, all that and just attack me with everything you know."
She seemed to hesitate.
"Relax," he assured her. "You're well protected, and I can hold myself back."
"All right."
He waited. Several heartbeats passed and then her attack came directed at his chest. He easily deflected it, slightly surprised how quickly she recovered and attacked again, this time at his shoulder. He deflected that as well. Her foil edge ran along his, sliding down the length of the blade as she decided on her next move. Then she struck again, nearly hitting his center chest. He grinned as she came at him again. Adrenaline was starting to kick in. He hadn't had a 'fight' in a long time. Too busy at sea, probably. His grip tightened on his foil and he began to advance, his foil making a slight arc. And another. And she blocked every one, and she even tried to counterattack. Their foils collided, metal clanging in the winter air for what seemed to be long minutes. The pace quickened, metal sliding against metal. Finally, Megumi made a move forward, only to have him parry her attack, the tip of his foil a millimeter from her sternum.
They stood in silence for a moment before she took a breath and lowered her weapon. Slowly, he dropped his foil to his side.
"I think that's enough for today…"
She nodded. "All right."
Then she set her weapon down, and reaching up, removed her mask, causing her black hair to fall over one shoulder. Her hair was pulled in a half-ponytail, away from her face, while several strands had fallen loose, brushing her cheeks. She began to pull off her practice armor.
Following her actions, he removed his helmet and began to take off his armor. The park was starting to get crowded with more people. Winter didn't stop people from going outdoors, especially in San Diego.
He and Megumi were quiet on the walk to her multiplex. She walked ahead of him mostly, for the sidewalk was fairly narrow. Not that he minded. It gave him the chance to stare at her without getting caught.
She was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and black track pants. They were loose enough to be comfortable, but did little to hide the curves of her form. Her hair hung down almost to the small of her back, blowing in the slight breeze. He wondered what it'd be like to feel that hair between his fingers. Chase sighed. He really had no business thinking about a woman who obviously made her position clear on things.
When they got to her unit, Sylvia waved at them from her open kitchen window.
"Hello! Come on in!"
She had invited them over for brunch when their lesson was done. Sylvia always made the best brunches. When he had been attending college in San Diego, she and Walter, her husband, had taken to looking after him since he was so far from home. One of his best kept secrets as a college kid was sneaking away on weekends for homemade brunch, gardening, and carpentry at the MacGregors.
The telephone shrilled through Megumi's partially opened apartment window. She gave an apologetic smile to the older woman and with a promise to be back, went to her unit.
"How was your lesson?" Sylvia asked as Chase stepped inside.
From her position in the kitchen, Sylvia was chopping some bell peppers for what appeared to be an omelet.
"Good. She's getting better," he offered.
"And you? Are you doing any better?"
He caught the gleam in the older woman's eyes. She was looking at him way too sharply, as if ready to pounce on his answer.
Chase gave a wry smile before saying, "Am I missing something?"
"It would seem so," Sylvia agreed, nodding her head in the direction of Megumi's apartment.
He set his equipment aside and leaned one hip against the counter, crossing his arms. "What are you getting at, Sylvia?"
She laughed softly. "I've known you a long time, Chase Tyler…and it's been pretty obvious to me what's been going on."
He ignored the woman's smug tone. "Where's Walter?"
"He's still asleep," she said in a conspiratorial tone. "He had a late night. I hope we didn't wake up Ramon…"
Chase fought back a grimace. Ramon was the MacGregor's next door neighbor. Chase always admired the couple for keeping their relationship alive after fifty years of marriage…that was a big thing nowadays…but he really didn't want to hear about their attempts at happiness.
"And don't change the subject," Sylvia chided. "We were talking about Megumi."
"What about her?" Chase pretended to study the spice rack on top of Sylvia's fridge.
"She's a nice girl, don't you think?"
"Better than nice," Chase admitted after a moment. Sylvia practically beamed at that. "What?"
"I'm just glad you like her."
"What's not to like?" he said casually. "She's intelligent…beautiful…fun…she can fence…"
He was surprised he managed to keep the enthusiasm out of his voice. No doubt Sylvia would jump on that and concoct some crazy matchmaking scheme. He'd been the victim of those quite a few times. Some with disastrous results, others were not bad at all.
"She's also been seeing you quite often."
"Not that way, Sylvia," Chase corrected gently. "She's not interested."
"How do you know?"
"I'd know," he responded assuredly.
"Did you ask her?"
He shook his head. "No."
"You'd be surprised how interested a woman suddenly gets when a handsome young man starts showing a lot more interest in her…Some excitement is just what that young woman needs. Now I don't know what she did on Hawaii, but all she seems to do here is work, go home, and fence. Maybe you need to show her a little more of what this quiet city has to offer." Then she grinned. "Including yourself."
~
"The house is huge!" Kaoru exclaimed over the phone line. "Oh, I wish you were here so you could see it. Our apartment items alone only take up a fourth of the house!"
Megumi laughed. Kaoru's moving morning had gone well. "You have to take pictures."
"Oh, I will, don't worry," Kaoru assured. Then, clearing her throat, she said, "So what's this I hear about you not coming back until March?"
Sighing, Megumi closed her eyes, bowing her head, her hair falling over her shoulder. "It's true."
"Okay. Work is work. I understand." Kaoru cleared her throat again. "So do you like it in San Diego?"
Megumi settled back onto her leather couch, cordless phone in her right hand, leaning against the cushions to stare at the ceiling.
"It's going very well. I have some nice neighbors…I get along with my coworkers…it's different out here. Very quiet, except for the planes that fly overhead."
"Planes?"
"They land into the downtown airport." Megumi flicked a lint piece off her track pants. "I can't explain it…but it's nice to be away from home for a while. I've never really been outside Oahu, and I'm enjoying it."
Yes, she missed home. But out here, she was truly independent and on her own. It was a learning experience. In Hawaii, she'd always have her family if she needed help. And she appreciated every second of it.
"Well, with everything that had been going on, you needed to get away for yourself," Kaoru said gently.
"Thanks…"
Silence.
"He's doing much better," Kaoru said softly.
Megumi felt her breath catch in her throat. "I'm glad."
She missed him so much. She hadn't heard from him in over three weeks…but she wasn't blaming that on anyone. It wasn't his fault he couldn't remember what they shared.
She had been feeling unusually tired and a little queasy the last week. The new time zone had sunk in not too long ago and she had been functioning on less sleep.
"This has just not been my week…" Kaoru complained. "I ended up bruising my arms and legs in the same places twice…and I think there's some bug going around…"
"Is this a strange connection? I've been feeling a little sick, too…"
Kaoru laughed. "What's that called? Sympathetic sickness?"
Then it was Megumi's turn to laugh. "There's nothing worse than being sick and having to do physical exercise."
"No, there's something worse," Kaoru groaned. "Try those and something else."
Megumi blinked before realization hit her between the eyes. "Oh no…" she murmured, her eyes wide with alarm.
"Megumi?" Kaoru immediately went on alert.
"Um…yes…?" Megumi hurried over to her purse, pulling out her Palm Pilot.
"What's wrong?"
Her heart was beating fairly quickly as she rifled through the planner's contents.
"Nothing…just…saw…something…" she stammered.
"Megumi, you're sounding very strange."
Please, please…Megumi stared at the dates she had jotted down in the handheld. November fifteenth. December eighteenth. No January. She swallowed. She was about a week and half late…
"Kaoru, I have to go, can I call you back?"
"Megumi, are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Um…okay. I'll be here. Call whenever."
Megumi grabbed her keys and purse, nearly bolting out the door. She ran to Sylvia's unit, then took a deep breath to calm herself. She couldn't let Sylvia or Chase know that she was ready to scream at something for the pure pleasure of letting out the emotions that cart wheeled inside her.
Chase opened the door, smiling. "Hey."
She feigned a smile, immediately feeling guilty for canceling out on Sylvia's brunches. "Hi. Um…something's come up and I need to take care of it. I'm…not sure when I'll be back…"
His eyes looked into hers before he frowned slightly. "Are you all right?"
She nodded. "Yeah. You can start without me."
"Do you need a ride?" he asked.
"No…it's…walking distance." There was no way she was going to impose on either of her neighbors' generosity, no matter how freely given.
"If you're sure…"
Sylvia came up, wiping her hands with a towel. "Megumi, dear, you're just in time…"
She felt that guilty twinge again. "I'm so sorry, but I need to go out and take care of something…"
Sylvia's features saddened ever so slightly. "Oh, all right. Take your time, dear."
"We'll save you some," Chase assured.
"Thanks!"
~
Megumi wrung her hands anxiously, glancing multiple times at the wand she had placed at the edge of the sink. She never imagined that…Megumi closed her eyes, hanging her head.
Instructions had told her to wait a few minutes for results to show. The waiting was killing her. Megumi left the bathroom, and for the sake of something to do, gathered water in a kettle and put it over the stove.
When she had gotten back from the drug store, Sylvia's car was gone, and Chase was nowhere around. She had deliberately taken a roundabout way back home so she'd avoid going past Chase's building.
Her heart was beating a mile a minute, and she could feel itchy anticipation throughout her entire body. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, only to help calm herself. Deep breathing helped. Closing her eyes and shutting out the world helped.
When she was fully relaxed, she opened her eyes to see the microwave clock's glaring digital numbers.
It was time.
Megumi slowly made her way to the bathroom, stopping in the doorway, hesitant to step inside. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. Opening her eyes, she moved into the bathroom, keeping her eyes averted and focused on the vanity mirror.
Swallowing, she picked up the box of instructions then reached for the wand near the sink. She stared at it for a few moments before looking at the instructions again. Then back at the thin stick in her hand.
Positive.
Megumi bit her lip as thousands of emotions filled her, clogging her throat.
She was pregnant.
Pregnant and scared and alone in that silent bathroom with no one to share the news with.
Not even the man who had made it possible.
A/N: And I will leave it at that. I have 2 papers to write, so I hope the muses will be merciful and go away. *glances pleadingly at Aoshi and Megumi*