Hello everyone! I'm back with a new chapter! It continues from where the last one ended. Hope you enjoy this one! See you next month/year!

Chapter 7: Decisions

Hikari was astonished at the amount of food there was on the table. She was sure she wasn't going to eat even half of it. She looked up when she heard Takeru laughing.
"What's so funny about it?"
"You seemed so impressed about it."
"Can you blame me?" The woman glanced over the table. "There's enough food to feed a whole army here."
"You have a point. This restaurant is known for the large quantity of food on their meals."
"It's a waste, if you ask me. If there were other people with us, then okay. But this isn't the case."
"You're funny." Takeru smiled.
"How's that even funny?" Hikari asked him confused. "I honestly doubt you're gonna to eat most of this food alone."
"You're right. But don't worry, I didn't make the wrong order."
"Then what is all this food for?"
"You'll find out soon." It was all that he said. "So tell me more about you."
"Well, I'm twenty-one. I work as an intern at a fashion company. Your sister-in-law is actually my boss."
"Wait, Sora is your boss? That's interesting." Takeru poured some wine in two glass cups and handed one to her.
"Oh sorry. I forgot to say I don't drink."
"You don't drink?"
Hikari nodded affirmatively. "I've witnessed some awful situations regarding alcohol and promised myself I wouldn't ever go down that path."
"May I ask you what happened?"
"Ah…" She sighed. "Just some potential boyfriend who drank too much at a party in college and ended up trying to abuse me. Luckily, my brother was also there and beat him up. I still get sick just thinking about it."
"That must have been terrible. No wonder you don't drink." Takeru took a sip of his drink. "But not all experiences have to be bad, you know?"
"I suppose you have a point." Hikari looked down at the cup. She would be lying if she said she didn't want to drink it, but she was also afraid she would lose control over her senses and end up making a fool out of herself. She wasn't willing to embarrass herself in front of Takeru at all, especially on their first date. She hesitantly reached out for it and stared at the liquid for a while before taking a very short sip. "I think just a small sip won't do harm. This is actually really good. Sweet." She put the cup down on the table again.
"It really is." The man stared right into her brown eyes. "See, it wasn't that bad of an experience, was it?"
"No, it really wasn't." She smiled. "But still, I really shouldn't drink so much."
"One step at a time. Tonight you overcame your first blockade, which is amazing."
"What are you, a lecturer?"
"Not quite." Takeru let out a warm laugh. "I am a writer, but I have a feeling you already know this."
"How could I not? Your latest book is a success."
"So I take it as a sign you have a copy."
"Maybe." Her tone was suggestive and she hid her smile behind the glass cup while she took another sip of wine.

Sora knelt down beside her fiancé. "Yamato, why are sitting here? I thought you'd gone home."
"I couldn't." Hurt was written all over his face when he looked at her. "I had to talk to you again first."
"Come on." She stood up and tried to lift him up. "Let's go inside, so we can talk about this."
Sora sat Yamato down on her couch and then went to the kitchen to make him some tea. He didn't stay there that much though, and soon he was sitting on a chair there too.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" She turned around to look at him and leaned against the sink.
"I want to apologize to you for my behavior just now." He made an attempt to get up and go to her, but he wasn't sure about the way she was going to react, so he sat back down. "I admit it wasn't a good thing to do and that it upset you."
"I'm glad you can see that now."
"I'll understand if you won't ever forgive me."
"Well, that's a pretty strong statement. But you have to understand I'm still upset with you."
"I know. I should have just been happy that you want to have a child with me now."
"That would have been much better, yeah."
The water in the kettle started evaporating and Sora turned around to turn the flame off and pour the boiling water in a cup. Yamato seized this opportunity to get closer to her.
"Your tea is ready." She turned around with an inexpressive face and handed him the cup. "It's very hot, so you might want to blow it a little to cool it."
"Got it." He put the cup over the table and turned to her again. "So…"
"So what?"
"I'm really sorry for the way I reacted. It was unnecessary and stupid."
"And also very childish."
"That too." Yamato let out an embarrassing laugh and looked down. "I'm very embarrassed with all that I did earlier."
"I know." Sora met his blue eyes and noticed they were full of hope. They had the same sparkle from that day where they said 'I love you' to each other for the first time. Without realizing, she took a step towards him.
"Does that mean you forgive me?"
"Yamato…" She looked away, still unsure of what to do.
"Please, Sora."
"I don't know."
"You wouldn't try to get closer to me if you didn't want to." He placed his left arm on her hip and she looked at him again. "It won't happen again, I swear."
"Words mean nothing if your actions say otherwise."
"You're right. I'll be the best person I can for you and our future baby."
"Yamato, I don't want you to be the best person you can for us. I want you to be the best person you can for yourself. You're the most important person to yourself."
"You're always so wise."
Sora smiled kindly. "Alright. I'm giving you one last chance. But I want you to know from now on I want a mature relationship. I don't have patience for games or things like this. We're twenty-five, you know?"
"Yes, no more games. I'm all in for this mature relationship."
"Good." She stood on her toes and kissed him on the lips. "I'm glad we're settled."
"Me too." Yamato leaned towards her and captured her lips in a very passionate kiss.

Hikari was speechless. She has been a fan of Takeru as a writer for a few years, but she wasn't expecting to be showed to another part of his life that night. In fact, she wasn't expecting her date to be him at all. She smiled warmly. It was certainly a night she wouldn't forget anytime soon.
"Why are you smiling?" Takeru was intrigued.
"I'm just thinking how crazy life is sometimes."
"Crazy is good." A smile appeared on his lips. "Care to share why you think so?"
"Not at all." She shook her head; the smile still on her face. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I still find it a little unreal that I'm actually having a date with you. I mean, not that this is going terribly, but I didn't think you'd be the type of man to do app dating."
"That's alright." Takeru poured himself some more wine. "A lot of people seem to get that impression about me. It's like they forget I'm a human too. Oh no, I'm not referring to you." He added when he noticed Hikari moving uncomfortably in her chair.
"People have this concept their idols or people they look up to are often untouchable or something like that. I guess because they aren't that accessible. So when one of them is, they feel shocked."
"That seems like it. You also don't seem to be the type to turn to dating apps. Why did you decide to try it?"
"I don't exactly have the best luck when it comes to guys and everything."
"Already having a broken heart at such a young age?"
"I wouldn't be so extreme about it, but it's a way to put it. By the way, I could say the same thing about you."
"You got me there. To be honest, I just prefer getting evolved when I know I'm actually feeling something. Otherwise, it just feels… strange."
"That's very poetic. I'm not surprised, considering who it's coming from."
"I like the way you express yourself." Takeru looked at her intensely. "It's very rare to see, especially with people our age."
"I think that's one of the most peculiar compliments I've ever received in my life. I can consider it a compliment, right?"
"I would be offended if you didn't." He drank some of his wine. "You're very pretty too."
"I knew you'd have to go back to being a normal twenty-one year old boy." Hikari stated with a smile. "But thanks. I like your blue eyes, by the way."
Takeru smiled proudly and then looked over the table. There was still quite little food on it.
"It's really a waste that we're gonna leave all these food here."
"Who said we are?" He gestured to the waiter, who immediately came to their table. Takeru asked him to wrap the remaining food for them to take home. He turned to Hikari once the waiter had left to the restaurant kitchen. "Are you ready to get your second blocked overcome?"
Hikari was really intrigued by this and decided to play along. "What do you have in mind?"
"It's a surprise, but I have a feeling you will like it. You'll just have to trust me."
She watched the hand stretched in front of her and started to raise hers, but stopped halfway because she wasn't sure if that would be a good idea. She looked up at him and realized she wasn't so afraid anymore. So she placed her hand over his and Takeru gently squeezed it.

Sora slowly pulled away from Yamato and touched his forehead with hers. She smiled softly when she saw the grin on his face. They still stood on each other's arms.
"Yamato, there's something I need to tell you."
"What is it?" His voice sounded alarmed even though he still saw the smile on her face.
"Better yet, I'm gonna show you." The woman completely pulled away from him and took him to her bedroom by the hand.
"Sora, what happened? Are you sick or something?"
"No, silly." Sora couldn't help but laugh. She forced Yamato to sit down on her bed and ordered him not to follow her while she went to the bathroom. She grabbed the test and hid her hands behind her back before coming back. "I want you to close your eyes and don't open until I say so. Oh, and don't cheat."
"Alright." He closed his eyes as she asked.
"Okay, now put your palms up."
Once again, he followed her orders and stretched his arms. His expression became suspicious and confused when he felt something strange on his hands. Yamato slowly opened his eyes after Sora told him it was okay and came across the test. He immediately looked at his girlfriend with the same confused expression. "What is this?"
"A couple of days after we had dinner with Mimi and Jou and he left, I felt really sick. I thought it could be something I ate there, but it lasted more than it should have. So I decided to do a pregnancy test just to make sure, since my period isn't exactly regular too."
Yamato looked down at the pregnancy test in his hands more carefully and he slowly began to understand what was happening and process it. "Wait, does that mean…" He wasn't even able to formulate a proper statement out loud, and eventually his voice trailed off.
"Well, it turns out we don't even have to start trying to conceive a baby. I'm already expecting a child, Yamato." Sora looked at him. "We're gonna be parents!"
"Parents?" He still took some time to process the news, and his expression changed from happy to surprised and shocked. "When did this…?"
"Yamato, honey." Sora grabbed his hands and Yamato looked at her. "I understand this is huge news, but isn't it what you wanted the whole time?"
"It is. It is. But it's also scary, you know?"
"I know. It's scary for me too. But you know what? We're gonna pull this off together, just like we have done other times too. We've been through so much and always were able to overcome it together. A little after you left, I was freaking out about this and had to tell myself we're gonna be great parents. I truly believe that we're gonna be amazing parents."
Seeing her being so confident about this gave Yamato the confidence he needed too. A smile appeared in his lips and he hugged his fiancé tight. "We're gonna be parents, Sora! I'm going to be a father!"
"Yes, you are." Sora wiped away the happy tears that were falling from his eyes with her thumbs and stroked his hair when he knelt on the ground and kissed her belly. She felt her own vision start to get blurry when he touched it and started talking to the baby as if he could hear him.
"Yamato, you know the baby is the size of a seed or something a little bigger than that, don't you?"
"I know." He replied, looking at her and then returning his attention to her belly. "But it doesn't mean he or she can't listen to us. It may not seem like it, but they can."
Sora simply smiled and watched him talk to her stomach with a sweet smile on her face.

Mimi's thoughts were all over the place. She began to wish she never met Koushiro in the first place. She wouldn't feel like she was in a rollercoaster if they hadn't met. She was experiencing different emotions each day and they were driving her insane. She had told herself she wouldn't get anywhere near him, but obviously that didn't work. It was like he had this magnet in him and was drawing her towards him, no matter how much she tried to fight it. She knew she had to get him out of her mind, even if she had to force it. Mimi sighed deeply. She grabbed her cellphone and stared at the time, 8 p.m. It meant Jou was going to start his shift in the hospital in one hour. She quickly pressed the call button and put it on speaker.
"Hello, Mimi." Jou's voice echoed in her bedroom and it made her body immediately relax. "How are you today?"
"I'm good. I just miss you like crazy."
"I miss you too. But we're gonna see each other soon, I promise."
"I know, but still…" Mimi took a deep breath. "I wish you were here with me tonight."
"Did something happen?" The tone is his voice was worried. Even with the distance, he could tell there was something off.
"No, I'm just feeling very lonely today."
"Why don't you invite Sora over to spend some time together?"
"I tried calling her, but I think she's doing something with Yamato and didn't answer me. It wouldn't be the same anyway, she's not you."
"Yeah, that's a problem." Jou laughed on the other side. "I'll try to visit you very soon again, and stay over longer this time."
"I would love that." Mimi tried to sound as cheerful as she could, but she wasn't sure if she succeeded. "Jou?"
"What?"
"We've been engaged for quite a few months already. Don't you think we should set a date and start planning our wedding?"
"You want to set a date?"
"Yeah, I think we waited long enough." Her voice was a little shaky. "Besides, it's not like we're getting married tomorrow or next week."
"Are you sure everything is alright, Mimi?"
"It has never been better, I promise."
"Alright." Jou said, but he wasn't at all convinced with her answer. He knew Mimi better than anyone and was completely sure something was off. He was determined to find out what it was. "When do you want it to happen?"
"I always dreamed about getting married in the spring. There's something so special about that season. So I'm thinking maybe May is good."
"Sounds good to me. But I want to get married here, if that's okay for you."
"It is." Mimi nodded. "All our families are there, it would be much easier for us."
"Great. Now we should start looking for a place, depending on how many people we want to invite. Hold on." Jou grabbed his pager, which was bleeping, to check who was sending him a message. He sighed heavily and put his phone back on. "I'm sorry, Mimi. I have to go now."
"Something came up?"
"There was an accident and they're gonna need me to start my shift as soon as possible."
"Okay, I'll call you later."
"Great, bye."
Mimi stared at her phone and then to her bag next to her chest of drawers. In an impulse, she jumped out of her bed and started putting some items on it and then rushed out of her apartment.