Prologue
The explosions were still visible from where Matsumoto was running. Night had fallen hours ago and it was hard to see by just the light of the moon. The grounds were still muddy from the rain that had fallen that afternoon and she had almost tripped a few times. It didn't stop her from going away as fast as she could. With every step she got further away from the explosions, leaving the destroyed quarters behind. It had been fortunate she had heard about those former scientists being up to something, so that she had a good reason to destroy them. No doubt people would believe she had died in those enormous fires, caused by the burning of chemicals they had been using.
Gin was a lot of things to many people. To the great majority he was an enemy they feared. Matsumoto had not been one of them. Despite knowing what he was capable off, she never feared him. She knew he could be cruel, that his strength was far greater than hers and that he could kill her on a whim. Yet she had never feared him.
Matsumoto did now. It was vital that she would be as far away as possible once he found out she had gone. She had taken a few weeks, nervously making plans, thinking of places to hide. Earth would be best. If he would even suspect she hadn't died, he would not be able to freely look for her there. Gin had many enemies, all keeping a close watch on him. She bit her lip and ran on, the explosions only vaguely echoing in her ears now.
If he found out she carried his child, he would search for her, find her no doubt. Matsumoto had never feared Gin for herself, but she feared for her child, for his enemies targeting it, the plans he would make for it.
It was so stupid. They had crossed paths, both on a mission with a different objective, when they decided touse the same abandoned house as a place to rest. At that time Matsumoto had told herself that sleeping with him had been just a release of tension. Who better to use for than an old friend and former lover? She had forgotten how heated his touch made her, how those slender hands would caress her and how his tongue could drive her crazy. And how lost she would be in his eyes when he was inside her.
It was her own stupid fault for being distracted by her mission after that, her fault that she was too late to take herbs that would have prevented it. Yet she would not let her child pay for his parents' mistakes. It deserved to grow up somewhere safe.
To be continued