Chapter 13: I Found an Angel--FINALE+
Memo: By "FINALE+", I mean there is an epilogue attached at the end of this chapter. :) Yay, this is the end! After this, I will post my Axel fan fic series...which I know will be epic. :D Also, while waiting for that, please read "Blankets" by Craig Thompson--it's an illustrated novel based on a true story. :) Enjoy, and thank you so much for reading!! --Emi Hikari
your pOv
Your head spins as you race toward your ship, flinging open the door and stumbling up the stairs. Ignoring the shocked faces of your friends and family, you rush to your bathroom.
"Rei!"
Slamming the door just in time, you manage to lock it despite your trembling hands.
Riku relentlessly jiggles the handle, then begins pounding on the door, shouting your name.
"Hold on," you say quietly.
Closing your eyes, you try to sort your jumbled thoughts.
You became an angel...and you saw Riku one last time. You said you'd protect him, but then God held a council about something, and now you're back. Due to "responsibility."
You really didn't think it was possible, this whole situation being a total flip from before...
*I need to pee,* you think, sighing through your nose. *Convenient.*
As you start to dig through your under-the-sink drawers--whatever those are called--you think of the one thing that really seems clear to you now.
FLASHBACK START
"Welcome, Reina," said the male angel. His eyes glowed silver like yours, but he had brown messy hair. He was young, maybe even younger than you. You managed a smile, despite the overwhelming sadness in your gut.
"Thank you," you said politely. "Who are you?"
"You mean...you don't recognize me?"
Staring into his eyes a bit longer, you shake your head.
"No."
He grinned, displaying two perfectly lined rows of pearly whites.
"Call me 'Okayama.'"
You jumped, startled. He was one of you all along.
Suddenly you felt a presence behind you, so you turned to see what you assumed to be an archangel glaring at you.
"Come with us, please," he said in a surprisingly kind voice. You nodded. It wasn't like you could do anything else anyway.
"What's going on?" you ask him.
"You're to stand trial."
"Trial?" you echoed, your voice shrill. "But what did I do? I've only been here a few minutes!"
He shook his head. "This has nothing to with the past few minutes, Reina."
FLASHBACK END
*This is so incredibly ironic,* your brain repeats over and over. *If I'm pregnant again...*
Your throat tingles at the thought. Pregnant again...your sister will annihilate you. So will Manders. They'll both be so livid.
But what can you do? If it happens, it happens. It's your fault, obviously, but you can't imagine what'll happen that hasn't already occured.
Riku has stopped pounding on the door finally, but every once and a while he jiggles the handle. You can hear him talking to the others. He's being impatient, but you totally understand why. After all, if he disappeared and then came back in a flurry like you just did, well, you'd be impatient too...
As you wait for the test to process, you start to pace across the carpet, onto the tile, back onto the carpet, onto the tile again...
You had things planned out, you know. After you got married, you were going to start a family...and work at that volunteer place full-time. Things are hardly going as planned. But when do they ever for you?
"C'mon, c'mon," you mouth, shaking the test unintentionally, due to your nervous, trembling hands. This has to be the answer. If it's not, that means there's another responsibility, and if it's not your marriage, then that must mean you have to take care of someone. One of your friends could be ill. You shudder at the thought. You're sick of such things.
"It says quick response on the fuckin' box!" you hiss, about to explode in anticipation. "This is NOT quick response!"
Suddenly, as if to prove you wrong, the test beeps at you. Your heart nearly stops when you see the blue plus sign.
"Holy crap."
Riku's pOv
You're about to kick down this door. For real. She's got ten seconds to open the door before you go find something to disassemble it with. Why is she hiding from you? If you didn't love her so much, you'd be as pissed as everyone else.
"Rei, open the door!" you shout, jiggling the handle. You hear her say something. "What did you say?"
She doesn't reply. Instead the door suddenly opens, and she pulls you by your wrists into the bathroom, shutting the door behind you and locking it again. You hear the others outside cry out in surprise.
Just as swiftly as she dragged you in, Rei kisses you, both hands on your cheeks. Stunned, you stand there for a moment. Then slowly, she pulls away from you. You hope she's about to maybe, oh I dunno, explain herself, but she then embraces you, throwing her arms around your neck.
"Rei!" you exclaim, pulling her away. "What's going on?"
She laughs a little, looking at you. You can't help but gasp.
"Your eyes..." you murmur.
Blinking once, she whips her head around to look in the mirror.
"They're...dark," you say. She nods. Her once silver eyes have become a dull, lifeless grey color.
"Yeah..." She grins anyway, looking back at you. Her cheeks turn pink. "So...you'll never guess why they kicked me out of Heaven..."
"What?" you ask her. That's an interesting line, but true.
"Probably because I'm the worst angel ever."
"What did you do to piss them off?"
Her grin becomes broader, and you squint your eyes at her, confused.
"Last chance to guess," she says.
"I give up," you reply, smirking. "That's my guess."
She sighs, playfully rolling her eyes at you, but the grin stays plastered on her face.
"I'm pregnant."
You stare at her in stunned silence.
"Are...you serious?" Dumb question. She nods, as expected. "Again?"
"Yeah. I blame you, you know."
You can't help but smile.
"So you got kicked out of Heaven for getting knocked up, huh?"
"By you, yes."
"Pardon me if I interrupted your wingspan."
She grins. "Hah, I hardly had one to begin with."
Chuckling, you shake your head. This is absolutely the most unbelievable thing you've ever heard of. You tell her that. She grins again.
"I know. But...it's so ironic, you know? 'Cause, the last time this happened, it really hurt, you know?" Her voice cracks at little, like she's getting choked up. "And this time, well, it saved my life. And..."
She inhales deeply, sighing it out shakily.
"Sorry," she mumbles, embarrassed.
"Don't apologize," you say, pulling her toward you. The moment her body reaches yours, she bursts into tears.
"I thought I had lost you again," she sobs, shaking.
"I know..." You squeeze your eyes shut, trying to block out the feelings that had just overwhelmed you only minutes ago. "But it's over now."
"Yeah...and this is...another chapter." Rei glances up at you. "I...I'm a little scared about all of this."
"Me too," you admit. She scrunches her nose at you, as if she can't believe you're afraid of anything. "Well, I am."
"What are we going to do about our wedding?"
You purse your lips in deep thought. You have no idea. This has all happened so quickly, not to mention completely out of order. You wanted kids, but not before getting married. What will the others say?
"Don't tell my sister," Rei adds, reading your mind.
)()()()()(FOUR WEEKS LATER)()()()()(
your pOv
"So, why are we going to the wedding dress shop again?" Manders asks, kicking a pebble around like a little kid as you, her, and Tashie stroll down the sidewalks of downtown Destiny Islands. You didn't even know it had a downtown until you moved here.
"Resizing," you remind her, as undetailed as possible. You've managed to keep the others unsuspecting so far, but as the weeks go on, you don't know how much longer you're going to be able to keep them guessing. You've already started to feel some of the symptoms, and it probably won't be much longer until you start showing...
"Oh yeah!" She kicks the pebble into another alley of shops. "Goooooal! And the crowd goes wild!"
"Shut up, Amanda," Tashie says, rolling her eyes. "Act your age, not your shoe size."
Manders sticks out her tongue. You grin at her. It's pretty much awesome having her around again. You have everyone who matters back in your life again. Plus one.
"Hello, welcome!" a saleslady greets you, smiling kindly. Her nametag says, "Sai." Weird name. You wonder what it means. You're trying to find a meaningful name... "Please check-in at the counter, thank you!"
"Thanks," you say, smiling back, and the three of you walk over to the counter as instructed.
"Hi, you're Rei, right?" says the clerk. You remember her from originally coming in.
"Yeah, hi again," you say, smiling.
"You're just here for a quick refitting, so let's take you back in to fitting room C."
"Tia," as she's called, leads you back. Your gown is already there waiting.
"Ohhh," Manders and Tashie gush at the same time. "It's sooo pretty."
"Kairi helped me," you explain, standing on the little platform. Tashie and Manders continue to gawk over it as they sit down behind you, able to still see your face in the mirror.
"Hi, Rei!" the store's fitter greets, coming into view. You grin; this chick is so tiny! Her name is "Eien," and she's possibly the most adorable Asian lady ever. Supposedly she came here from Earth on her own, and she never returned. "You want resizing?"
"Yes, please," you reply as she trots over to your dress.
"Please put on," she commands you in her incomplete, fragmented sentences. In the mirror you can see Manders grinning at you.
Carefully, you manage to step into your dress and tie it up. It's already becoming snug around your hips. It's only going to get worse from here...
"Yes, I see problem," Eien assures you, tapping your hips with the eraser end of her pencil. "I will fix. You stand here, okay? Do not move."
"Okay."
"Did you get fat, Rei?" Tashie teases as Eien's quick little hands get right to work.
"No," you reply, your face getting hot. Tashie and Manders giggle.
"No talk, please," Eien says sharply. You all fall silent.
It seems like hours that you stand there completely still as Eien takes out each necessary stitch on the custom-made dress, taking out the material here and there, gradually loosening the area around your hips and stomach, thankfully. She does it with the training of a professional, and you have to wonder how old she was when she came here.
"I am almost done. You wait. Don't move," Eien commands you, pencil in her mouth.
"Okay," you say obediently as she trots off.
"So, Rei, seriously, did you gain weight?" Manders asks you innocently.
"No, I told you," you reply, flushing red again. *Not yet.*
"You keep blushing."
"Shut up," you mutter, clenching your teeth.
"Rei, don't be embarrassed about gaining a few pounds," Tashie says. "Your super-high metabolism was bound to give out eventually. Though we were all expecting that to happen later, like when you had kids or whatever."
If your face could get any redder, you'd look like a rutabega. Tashie and Manders stare at you in silence.
"Rei?" Manders says curiously. You fix your eyes on the carpet and don't look up. This is it. They're gonna kill you now.
Tashie groans, smacking her hand to her forehead. "Please tell me I'm reading too much into this."
Your lip quivers a little in terror.
Suddenly the door bursts open, and Eien comes back in, completely unaware of the growing tension in the room.
"Here we go. We will finish now," she says cheerfully.
"Thank you," you croak. Glancing into the mirror, you see Tashie and Manders staring at you with narrowed eyes...for Manders, narrower than usual. You gulp. You should've brought Riku for protection.
Amanda's pOv
As you thank and say goodbye to Eien and the other women in the store, you glance at Natasha. She nods. Rei is dead.
The second the door closes behind you, you and Natasha drag Rei into an abandoned alleyway, pinning her against the wooden wall of the old building. She whimpers.
"Please don't kill me," she gasps, squeezing her eyes shut.
"You're pregnant?!" Natasha hisses. When Rei pitifully nods, she adds, "AGAIN?!"
"It's not like it was on purpose!" Rei wails.
"It's because you people eat too much fish!" you shout. Natasha and Rei stare at you, but you stomp your foot angrily. "It's true! Eating fish ups your chances of getting pregnant! So do some nuts!"
"That's definitely part of my diet," Rei admits, poking out her lower lip in thought.
"I don't care!" Natasha exclaims harshly, shaking Rei by the shoulders. It looks funny, since Rei is taller than Natasha, but much skinnier. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"I knew you'd be mad," Rei replies, near tears. "But it saved my life, you know! If I wasn't pregnant, I wouldn't be here right now!"
"..." Natasha's face softens, and she releases Rei slowly.
"I'm not mad, really," you admit, hugging Rei as she falls away from the wall. "I'm just a little pissed you didn't tell us right away."
"Sorry, I was afraid to," she says, hugging you back. "Riku's the only one I knew wouldn't flip out. I mean, he did a little afterward, but he wasn't mad...just a little worried and excited." She smiles at you, and you can't help but grin back.
Natasha sighs, pulling Rei into a hug.
"I guess I can't be too mad," she finally states. "At least this time you're halfway stable."
"KNOCK ON WOOD!" Rei shouts, pounding on the side of the building.
"Anyway..." Natasha blinks, her calm face returning. "We won't tell anyone. I mean, our parents--"
"Don't remember me, remember?" Rei says, holding up her index finger with a grin.
"...True."
Rei smiles again, the corners of her lips curling deviously.
"I know that smile," you say, smirking at Rei. "What are you planning?"
Rei smiles again, her eyes dancing despite their boring color. "You'll see."
)()()()()(
After the wedding...
your pOv
"So what is snow like?" Kairi asks you. You smile, glancing at Sora, who's the only one at the table who knows what snow is. Kairi, Riku, and the others have never seen it. Why does this matter?
Because in two months, you're going to Maine to celebrate Christmas. And so Riku can see snow. And your old home town.
"It's basically beyond amazing," you sigh, gazing out over all your friends dancing around. The only people left sitting are you, Kairi, and Sora. "It's super cold, and you can hit people with it."
"And when you pee in it, it turns yellow!" Sora says, his cheeks a little flushed. You never should have offered him champagne... Here, though, there's no drinking age, so there's nothing that really could've stopped him.
"You're so drunk," Kairi laughs openly, shoving him off of his chair with ease. He laughs too, lying in the sand under the night sky.
"Like you're not," he slurs. You and Kairi exchange looks, both of you completely sober.
"I'm not...you drank my glass, remember?" Kairi tells him, rolling her eyes. "And Rei's, and Riku's..."
"That's okay, I didn't want it anyway," you say, amused.
"Why not? It's your own wedding," Sora asks, still lying in the sand.
"She's not a drunk like you, Sora..."
"Because..." you murmur.
"Have you ever had it? It's not so bad," Kairi says, shrugging. "In small doses, as demonstrated by Sora."
You both giggle.
"I shouldn't," you say, watching Riku talk to Leon. He glances at you once, and your entire body tingles. You exchange smiles.
"Why not?" Kairi asks.
You don't answer; you're too busy grinning at Riku.
"Why are you smiling like that?"
"Oh!" You whip your head back to Kairi. "Sorry. Um..." You twist your hands nervously. "Alcohol would not be good for my health right now..."
"Why? What's wrong?!" Kairi gasps. "Are you sick?"
You smile, shaking your head.
Kairi stares at you for a moment, hand on her cheek in thought.
"Are you sick?" you hear Sora echo a moment later in a perfect imitation of Kairi. You can't help but start laughing. "See? She's a sick one, I tell ya!"
"Shut up," Kairi tells him, kicking his leg. "Just tell me, Rei."
"...Promise not to get mad?" you say, raising your eyebrows at her.
"Yeah, I swear."
"...I'm pregnant."
"WHAT?!" Kairi shrieks, jumping up from the table. Everyone's gaze snaps over to you, and you thank Heaven that it's dark out so no one can see you blushing.
"She's gone mad! Mad, I tell ya!" you can hear Sora chanting in the background. Slowly Kairi sits down.
"There's nothing to see here!" she shouts at the others. They slowly return back to their activities. Riku gives you a knowing smile, and you press your lips together in an effort not to laugh. He's probably the only one who realized what just happened.
"For real?" Kairi whispers, excited. You nod, still blushing.
"Again?"
Nod.
"For real?"
Nod.
"Wow..." Kairi sits back in her chair, blinking.
"Yeah, Manders said it was because we eat too much fish," you say, grinning.
"What?"
"I dunno, talk to her about it." You sigh. "It doesn't matter. This is the most awesome thing ever."
Kairi smiles, and Sora adds in, "yayyy..."
"And it will just keep getting better."
EPILOGUE: Blessing
)()()()()(THREE MONTHS LATER)()()()()(
your pOv
"There's no snow," Riku says for the tenth time. You roll your eyes playfully as the two of you stroll down a street in your old home town.
"It's not cold enough today," you tell him, squeezing his gloved hand. And for once, the gloves are real, winter gloves. And he's wearing a coat. You never thought you'd see the day.
"I can see my breath," he comments, exhaling through his nose sharply. "That's pretty cold."
You grin at him.
"How are you feeling?" he asks you. "We've been walking for a while."
"I'm fine," you say. "You're the one carrying all our stuff."
He shrugs. "You wanted to break into your old house."
Shaking your head, your grin broadens.
You didn't actually break into your house. You had a key...Tashie's key. She lent it to you so you could get some real money and warm clothes. You have enough money to get you one overnight at a cheap hotel, which is all you were aiming for in the first place.
Trouble is, you remember the bed and breakfast place you want to stay at, but you can't remember the name. So now you're wandering all over town for one person: your father. He knows the name of every single place in town.
"Are you sure you're not tired or anything?" Riku asks again.
"No, I'm fine. It feels good to walk around."
Suddenly a man approaching you catches your attention. Though his face is turned toward the ground, you'd recognize him anywhere. After all, you look a lot like him.
Turning around, you face Riku as you walk backward.
"Rei..."
"Trust me," you murmur. You raise your voice a little. "So anyway, tomorrow, there's this awesome little park that I think we should go to and--"
Right on cue, the man bumps into you and drops his briefcase. It pops open and dozens of papers try to escape.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" you cry, whirling around. You try to help him, but seeing as how you can even tie your own shoes anymore, it proves to be useless. "I'm so sorry! I should've been more careful!"
Your father looks up at you, his dark eyes kind.
"You're alright, miss," he says quietly, gathering up the last of his papers. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, are you?"
He nods, standing upright.
"I've never seen you around before. Are you new to town?"
Perfect.
"No...well, sort of." You smile at Riku; he smiles back, completely clueless. "I grew up here, when I was little, and he comes from the south, so he's never seen snow. So...well, here we are!"
Your father stares at you, then says, "I have daughter around your age, but she went missing some time ago..." He frowns, and you frown too. He's not talking about you, of course, but Tashie. "Sorry, I don't know where that came from." He smiles again. "Where are you staying?"
"Well, it's some little bed and breakfast...oh...what was it called?" You glance at Riku, and he shrugs, shaking his head.
"Aunt Marsh's?"
"Yes!" you exclaim. Bingo. "That's it. Aunt Marsh's."
Riku's pOv
You can't help but stare at Rei's father as he and Rei talk for a while longer. She resembles him quite a bit.
"Well, I'll let you two get on your way," he finally says with a smile. "Take care. I hope you enjoy your stay."
"We will," Rei assures him, grinning. "Thanks, Mister...um?"
"Mister Nichols."
"Mister Nichols, okay, thank you!"
Rei suddenly pulls you along, rushing away from her father.
"That was so perfect," she giggles. "I know him too well."
"So we know where we're going now?" you ask. She nods.
"And we can afford it, too."
"Yeah..."
Really, you wouldn't care if you stayed in a cardboard box, as long as Rei is happy. You make sure you can always afford to make her happy. She's the same way with you. And it'll be the same way when your daughter is born.
)()()()()(
(still Riku's pOv)
This cozy little inn...and looking out this big window at the falling snow...it's pretty amazing. You can only add it to your extremely lengthy list of amazing things you've seen and done, though. The word "blessed" comes to mind... Hm...
"Isn't it beautiful?"
You don't bother turning around as Rei walks up next to you. You know her voice even in death.
"Yeah... I've definitely never seen anything like it before, that's for sure," you tell her, smiling. She smiles, too; you can see her reflection against the glass.
"It actually feels like Christmastime now," she giggles.
"The tree helps," you admit, looking to the middle of the room. Rei carefully sits in front of it, staring.
"It's so big."
You walk over to her and sit down as well. She sighs, smiling a little.
How things have changed. Two years ago you never would've imagined this sort of happiness. And go figure, after all the dumb mistakes you've made since then, all the innocence you disposed of so easily, things turned out pretty darn well.
"Tomorrow we can ride through the park," Rei says through a yawn, turning to her side and lying down. Her whitish-gold hair drapes over her face and shoulders. "You'll love it."
Lying down facing her, you push the unruly hair out of her face.
"How are you feeling?" you ask her. She smiles, playfully swatting away your hand.
"Quit asking me. I'm fine." She closes her eyes. "We've still got three months."
"I just don't...want anything to happen again."
She opens her eyes, frowning.
"I know. I'm afraid I'll get sick again, too. But...this is so different. I have you this time."
the next day
your pOv
"C'mon, just get in!" you insist, practically shoving Riku into the little Christmas-y carriage. He stumbles to his seat, and laughing, you follow him.
"It's so unsteady..." he says, leaning over the side.
"Get used to it." You nod to the driver, and he snaps the whip on the butts of the horses. The carriage rumbles along, bouncing around a bit on the cobblestone until you reach smooth snow.
A moment later, you hit a bump, and a bit of snow plops into your lap. You grin at Riku, who has his back turned to you. Carefully you reach up and scoop a bit of snow into your mitten.
"Hey, Riku!" you exclaim, readying your arm.
"Yeah?" He turns to face you, and the snowball greets him instead, right in the face. You burst out laughing.
You love winter...
Suddenly Riku reaches up as well and somehow manages to dump twice as much snow on your head. You quickly toss some back on him, giggling. He pushes you to the opposite side of the bench, but you scoot back over, hugging his snow-soaked, coat-covered arm. You grin at him, and his pout slowly cracks into a smile.
"Whoa," Riku says, opening his eyes. You both look forward to see a big snow flurry blowing into your faces, the large flakes landing on you gracefully.
"It's so...pretty," you say, gawking.
"So are you."
You blush, smiling at him.
Facing forward again, you squint into the wind, barely able to see what's ahead. But whatever it is, you know it will be good.
)()()()()(ONE YEAR LATER)()()()()(
Employment Survey
1. Name you'd like to go by: Rei
2. Age: 20
3. Other employment: none
4. Marital Status: married
5. Age group you'd like to work with: no preference
6. Education level: high school
7. Parent(s): Jacob and Holly Nichols
8. Sibling(s): Natasha Nichols
9. Children, if any: Megumi (nine months)
10. A motto we can use for the children: "Live life with love."
END.