I'm heading down a hall in the Commission building early this morning, my backpack on me.
"Wait!" A guard comes after me. "The President is busy!"
I ignore him and continue on my way. Once I reach the double doors of an office, I swing them open. Inside, some Commission executives sit at the conference table. I ignore them as my gaze stares at an elderly looking woman, her shoulder-length hair slicked back, wearing a dark suit. All of them gaze at me in surprise.
"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" I stare at the President.
The elderly looking woman returns her gaze at me sternly.
"What are you doing here?" She asks.
"I've come to discuss some matters with you," I state.
"We're meeting with the CEO of Detnerat this morning. We don't have time."
"You don't have time to talk about Shizuka Nakamura?"
The President's eyes widen instantly.
"About Hikaru Watanabe?" I ask. "Seems you had a lot of time to discuss their deaths."
The President narrows her gaze at me, allowing me to continue.
"I know the truth about my parents…" I say. "About everything…"
"Just where did you get this information from?" The President asks.
"From the CEO of Detnerat himself."
Everyone is surprised. The President seems to realize where I'm going with this.
"He had me kidnapped and taken to Deika City," I continue. "There, he revealed the truth of my parents...to recruit me."
The two men stand upon hearing this, seeing me as a threat.
"I deceived them by accepting," I say. "To your disappointment, I actually refused their offer."
The President raises her brows at me.
"What happened with my parents...it doesn't involve me," I say. "But you made it by projecting the hate you have for my father on to me…. Really, I should be joining the Paranormal Liberation Front...to seek revenge… but that's not who I am. I'm my own person, regardless of what my parents did. I didn't get to know them…but I want to break the chain of hatred...and continue my path to healing."
The President continues to stare in surprise.
"Even though I refused to join the Liberation," I continue. "I'm still at risk, even if I fight with the heroes. They'll still try to capture and use me. And we all don't want that now, do we?"
"What do you propose?" The President asks.
"That you send me away."
"What? We still need you to fight!" A man with unkempt hair exclaims. "We're already understaffed as it is!"
"Quiet, Yokumiru," the President says. "Let her speak."
"I can't fight…not in my condition…" I lower my gaze.
"What condition?"
"I'm pregnant."
The President and the others stare in surprise.
"I'm not going to risk the well-being of my child…" I say. "As much as I want to fight alongside my hero comrades… I can't."
"How far along are you?" The President asks.
"I actually don't know… I didn't want to see a doctor because I didn't want anyone finding out."
The President stares at me for a moment.
"Please...you have to send me away," I plead. "If they get a hold of me...they'll get a hold of my child. I don't want my child being raised in this chaos."
The other executives turn to the President, awaiting her response.
"I'll have a private doctor examine you," she finally says.
"Hm?" I raise a brow.
"We need to make sure you and the child are healthy first. I'll figure out where you'll be sent away meanwhile," she makes a call. "Prepare an examination room immediately," she speaks into the phone then hangs up. "You'll be examined here by one of our private doctors. After the exam, you'll report back here to discuss the results and where you'll be sent away."
I'm surprised at the President's response but nod.
"Yokumiru," she turns to him. "You'll escort her to the examination room and bring her back here. I'll have to monitor the situation before the raids on the Paranormal Liberation Front bases begin."
"Right," he nods.
Yokumiru and I head out of the conference room and make our way to the elevator.
'No one can know where I'm going…' I think. 'Only the Commission executives...no one else can know about my child.'
I'm sitting in the private examination room, waiting for the doctor to return.
'I wish I was able to fight…' I think to myself. 'The only thing I can do now...is hope for the best.'
The doctor finally enters, a handful of papers on her clipboard.
"Good news," she says. "The baby is doing well so far."
"I'm so glad," I sigh in relief.
"You're about three months pregnant at this point," she reads her papers. "Though it doesn't show. Seems your baby is rather small. Nothing to be alarmed about. Every woman's body is different. You could not look pregnant at all now, but in the last couple of months before birth, you'll blow up like a balloon!"
'Then...the baby was conceived...on my birthday….' I recall the first time I was intimate with Touya.
"You're healthy overall, so everything looks good so far," she pulls out some sheets. "Here are the ultrasounds."
I take the images, my brows rising upon seeing them. The black and white images show the small baby in my womb, the shape of its head, arms and legs still in early development. My eyes tear up as I stare at the first images of my unborn child.
"When do I find out the gender?" I ask.
"That's after about five months," the doctor replies.
I continue to stare down at the images, wondering if my child will be a boy or a girl. I then think of Touya, wondering if our child will look like him or me. Still, it wouldn't matter - Touya will never get to know about our child. Not him nor his family.
"Congratulations," the doctor smiles.
"Thank you…" I nod as I wipe a tear from my eye.
The doctor escorts me back to Yokumiru as I put the papers away in my backpack.
"We'll head back up to the main office," he says as we head to the elevator.
Yokumiru's cell phone rings and he answers it.
"Yes. We're on our way back up," he says. "Alright. See you in a moment," he hangs up.
"Is everything alright?" I ask.
"The raids have begun," Yokumiru has a serious gaze.
'Enji said that they'd engage in the raids and evacuations of civilians at the same time…' I think.
"The areas in the vicinity of the raids have been ordered to evacuate."
Yokumiru's statements further confirm my thoughts. We enter the elevator.
"I sure hope everything goes according to plan," Yokumiru says.
"You're not the only one…" I say.
I think of Enji being a part of the hospital raid. I can't help but worry for him. Keigo is also involved, along with Touya. My heart aches at the thought of what's to come. We arrive at the executive floor and head down the hall. Yokumiru and I enter the conference room, closing the doors after us. The handful of executives sit at the table along with the President. She turns her attention to me.
"What's the status of your pregnancy?" She asks.
"I'm three months in…" I reply. "Everything looks well so far…"
"Good. We've decided what to do and where to send you."
I remain silent as she prepares her response.
"You'll be sent to Hawaii," she says.
"Hawaii?" I'm surprised.
"It's an island where you'll be isolated. The climate is warm there to suit your sensitivity to the cold. The Japanese embassy will provide assistance and will be aware of your stay. They won't know details, but they know you're in a protection program. The American government will be involved as well. You can't obtain employment for risk of being exposed out in public, so you'll be financially supported."
I stare at her in surprise, not expecting this much support from her.
"The fact that you refused to join the Paranormal Liberation Front…" the President says. "It says a lot... I'm afraid I was blinded by the hate of your father's betrayal...which led me to treat you so harshly and unfairly... I misjudged you. It wasn't your fault."
My brows rise at her words.
"You've done so much for the Safety Commission," she continues. "It's the least we can do at this point."
"Thank you," I tear up, bowing to her.
"There's a helicopter ready to take you to a private jet. If things go bad with the raids, we need to make sure you're out of Japan as soon as possible. As I said before, the only ones aware of your whereabouts and condition will be those present in this room."
I nod as I give her a determined stare.
"I understand that this must be difficult for you.." the President says. "You're leaving your life here in Japan… Though you don't have any blood relatives, you still have those who are like family to you."
Enji, Rei, Fuyumi, Natsuo, Shoto, Keigo, and finally Touya flash in my head.
"You're sacrificing your life here for the sake of others…" the President continues. "That...is truly heroic."
I keep my determined stare, though my eyes are still teary as I remain strong.
"You truly are your own person," the President admits. "I only hope that whatever I can do right now will be enough to atone for all I've done to you."
"That's enough," I nod. "Harbouring any hate will only make me feel worse… I only plan to heal."
The President stares at me for a moment in admiration. Just then, the phone rings and she picks it up.
"Alright, we'll be escorting her up," she says and hangs up. "The helicopter is on the building's landing pad," she says. "You're leaving now. I'll escort you there myself."
The President stands and heads to the conference room doors.
"Yokumiru," she turns to him. "Stay on top of the raids and monitor every single situation. The CEO of Detnerat is due to arrive shortly."
"Right!" Yokumiru responds.
The President leads me out of the conference room to the elevator down the hall. I stand behind her as we remain silent. I can tell she's carefully reflecting on everything that's happening, including me. The elevator doors open and we head down another hall to the door that leads to the building's roof.
"The helicopter is just outside," the President says. "You're directly going to a private jet, with no stops to Hawaii. It'll be about an eight hour flight. Do you have everything you need with you?"
"I do," I pat the straps of my backpack.
"You have funds from your years of hero work, but as I said, you'll be financially supported while you're under the protection program. Should you need anything for you or the baby, you'll be taken care of."
"Thank you again," I give her a bow.
"Will the father be involved?"
"No…" I lower my gaze. "It's best he doesn't know either."
The President nods. I turn to the door, but before turning the knob, I stop for a moment. I feel a weight lifting from me.
"Enji told me my father's dying words…" I say with my back to the President.
"Last words?" The President is surprised to even know about this.
"My father wanted me to forgive him and my mother," I say. "For all they'd done…"
I turn around and gaze at the President who's still some feet behind me. She furrows her brows in a look of sorrow.
"Despite all that's happened…" I gaze up at her. "I forgive you."
The President has a surprised expression, her eyes glistening a bit as she stares at me in awe. She stares at my smiling face before I turn and exit out the door. The helicopter's blades blow gusts of wind as I approach it. The officers help me climb in and I strap myself inside as we prepare for take off. Through the window, I can see the streets down below as people are still working on evacuating.
'Things aren't looking too good…' I think. 'I just hope...everything turns out alright.'
After a short flight, the helicopter arrives at the airport and I'm escorted to the private jet. I climb on and settle myself in one of the seats. I take my laptop out of my backpack, along with the black photo album. I also have the teddy bear Touya gave me inside my backpack. After setting up the jet's wifi on my laptop, I log in to watch any news channels. While it's connecting, I open the black album, viewing the photos I have inside.
'I know I didn't get to say goodbye…' I think. 'It hurts...but I have to do this...for us...for you,' I clutch at my stomach.