A/N: Here's Chapter Four of "Hana's Surprise!" Please read, review, and enjoy!
The Ultimate Detective and The Ultimate Hope Gaiden: Hana's Surprise!
Chapter Four: Abortion?!
Shingi tapped his fingers against the table and bit his lip in worry. He had fully expected his girlfriend to beat him back to their apartment, since her parents were closer to their apartment than his were. But once he walked in the door, she was nowhere to be found. He merely assumed her train was running late or her parents took more of her time than they anticipated. So he resigned to taking a seat and dutifully waiting for her.
Where is she…? He finally wondered. Did her train break down? Did she get stuck at her parents' house overnight? What if something- At that moment, the door opened and Shingi sighed in relief at the sight of Hana shuffling in. "Hana, there you are! I was wondering where you were."
Hana winced, averting her eyes as she closed the door. "Gomen…I shouldn't have worried you like that…"
Shaking his head, he assured her "It's fine, don't worry about it. Come on, why don't you have a seat?" Shingi's eyes furrowed in concern as she lethargically lumbered to the adjacent chair. What's with her? She looks almost depressed… Once she sat down, Shingi asked "Hana…is everything okay?"
Biting her lip, she dodged the question. "It's…nothing, Shingi. How did visiting with your parents go?"
For once, Shingi's smiles did nothing to lift her spirits. "Better than I expected, actually. My parents weren't exactly thrilled about how things turned out. But they did say that if we chose to have the baby, that they'd offer us their advice and support."
"Oh, that's nice…" Hana's heart wrenched at the excited twinkle in her boyfriend's eyes. You're looking forward to being a father, aren't you…? Damn it, why'd you have to make this harder, Shingi?
"And what about you, Hana?" Shingi's expected question nevertheless caused Hana to freeze. "How'd visiting your parents go…?"
Hana let out a heavy sigh. I hate having to burst your bubble like this, Shingi… "They were…not nearly as welcoming." Shingi frowned as Hana recounted her visit with the Morimes. "They told me how having this baby out of wedlock would bring dishonor to the family, about how reckless and irresponsible I was. They…they also told me that we needed to…address this problem as soon as possible."
Shingi frowned, displeased with how furiously her parents had reacted to the unexpected development. "Address it? What do you-"
"They want me to terminate the pregnancy, Shingi."
Shingi's heart shattered. Mere hours after being told Hana was expecting a baby, he was now being told that she had been practically ordered to abort it.
"And…you're going to…go along with it…?"
"Shingi, you know I can't stand up to my parents!" Hana cried, frustrated tears streaming down her cheeks. "Besides, you know we're not prepared to have a baby! I'm grateful your parents are willing to help, really, I am. But we haven't figured out childcare, how we're going to balance our jobs, and this apartment just isn't suited to raising a baby! Where would we even put the goddamned nursery?! We're…we're just not ready…"
Hana…
Shingi bit his lip, not used to seeing his fiery partner look so defeated. He took a deep breath, trying to remain calm before he finally spoke.
"…Okay, Hana. If you think we're not ready…then we're not ready…I'll trust your judgment on this."
"Shingi…" Hana hiccuped, pained at seeing the hurt in her boyfriend's eyes. "I'm sorry-"
Shingi squeezed her hand, cutting her off as he faked a smile. "Hana, I'll…be okay. I promised we'd be okay no matter what happened, didn't I?"
Kami, why do you have too be so strong, Shingi…? Swallowing the lump in her throat, Hana nodded. "Okay…I'll call the clinic tomorrow and…make an appointment."
Shingi solemnly nodded, then got out of his chair. "Okay…why don't I heat up some leftovers for us? We should still have something in the fridge."
Hana nodded, watching as her boyfriend stood up and got to work in their kitchen. Guilt gnawing at her heart, she rested her hand over her womb.
Please, forgive me…I don't have a choice! I don't have a choice…do I…?
"Okay, I'm off to work." Shingi sighed. "You sure you don't need me to accompany you to your appointment?"
Hana was grateful for his support, even though she knew the outcome was tearing him up inside. Ever since she bore the bad news, she could feel him tossing and turning in their bed, exacerbating her guilt for causing him so much distress. Nevertheless, she shook her head.
"I'll be fine, Shingi. I'm just taking the train there and back. It's no big deal."
Nodding stiffly, Shingi walked up to his girlfriend. After kissing her goodbye, to her surprise, he fell to his knees and embraced her torso. He rested his forehead against her belly, nearly bringing a tear to Hana's eye as she watched him silently say goodbye to their baby that would never be born.
At last, he released her and stood up. Without another word, he turned and marched out the door, leaving Hana by her lonesome.
"…Better get this over with…" She sighed, getting ready for her day…no matter how much she didn't want to. Why did this have to be so…so hard…?
"Ano…sumimasen…" The receptionist looked up at the fidgeting Hana. "My name's Morime Hana, I have an appointment…"
"Ah, Morime-san. the doctor will be right with you. Please, have a seat."
Nodding, Hana shuffled away from the window and turned to the lobby. Walking to the row of chairs, she noticed an empty one next to a woman whose long, lavender hair was so light she could have mistaken it for silver.
"Is…is this seat taken?"
Looking up from her magazine, the woman smiled and shook her head. "Not at all, go ahead, Miss."
Without another word, Hana sat down next to the kind, young woman. As her eyes wandered, she noticed the woman's slightly more pronounced baby bump. The rounding of her abdomen made her appear fairly well along, likely the second trimester, by Hana's estimation. Hastily averting her eyes before she could get caught staring, she kept her gaze focused on her lap, fiddling with a lock of hair.
"Is something wrong, Miss?"
Hana squeaked, nearly jumping in her seat. The lavender-haired woman frowned, staring intensely at the expectant mother.
"You seem on edge. Is something bothering you?"
Perhaps it was just the premise of talking to another expectant mother about it, but to her surprise, Hana soon began spilling her soul. "It's just…my boyfriend and I found out that I'm pregnant."
Rather than instantly congratulate her, the other woman seemed to scrutinize her face. "I take it the story's more complicated than that…am I wrong?" Hana blinked at the woman's intuition, then shook her head. "No, you're not wrong. It's…rather complicated."
"Does your boyfriend not want to support you?"
Aghast, Hana shook her head, waving her hands frantically. "Oh no, oh no! He's been extremely supportive form the moment we found out. It's…my parents that aren't exactly on board…"
The woman's eyes shone in comprehension. "Ah, I understand how that feels. My fiancé isn't exactly on speaking terms with his parents, though in his case, it has nothing to do with us having a baby…" The woman's eyes furrowed, her lips tugging into a grimace. "He didn't want to go into his family's business, and his father shunned him. My parents were kind enough to take him in, thank Kami for that."
Hana frowned. "I'm so sorry…I didn't know you and your fiancé had it so hard…"
The woman shook her head. "It's fine. Anyway…" She smiled, caressing her belly with one hand. "I'm hoping this baby will help them to reconcile. I want our baby to grow up in a whole family, so it'd mean the world to me if the two of them would bury the hatchet for the sake of our child."
Hana couldn't help but smile at the woman's optimism. "That sounds really sweet…I hope everything works out for you." Her curiosity getting the better of her, she inquired "I'm curious, are you expecting a boy or a girl?"
The woman giggled and shook her head. "We don't know for certain…but if I had a preference…I think I'd like a little girl."
"I'm sure she'll be beautiful as she grows up."
The two women shared a giggle before the further along woman turned to Hana. "So what about you? You mentioned your parents weren't on board…if I'm not being too nosy, what do you mean by that…?"
Hana bit her lip, reminded of her parents' harsh words. "They…demanded I terminate my pregnancy. I…I find it really hard to stand up to them, and all I could think about before I told them was how I didn't feel ready to take care of a baby…it broke my boyfriend's heart when I told him, though…"
The woman frowned in sympathy, resting her hand atop Hana's. "I'm sorry your parents aren't supportive of you and your boyfriend having a baby at this point in your lives. I can't even imagine how much harder my own pregnancy would have been if my parents laid down the law as harshly as that."
Hana stared appreciatively into the woman's eyes, grateful that she wasn't being judgmental about what was disclosed. "To be honest…I'm feeling really conflicted about this. I meant it when I said I wasn't ready to have a baby, but when my parents told me to terminate it, just like that…I couldn't help but feel like it was…so cruel…"
The woman nodded in understanding. "I take it that's why you're here today? To go through the procedure?"
"Y…Yes…"
"…I won't judge you for your choice. Whether a woman in your situation keeps or terminates a pregnancy is nobody's business but their own. That being said…if your fear is that you're not ready, no first time mother is ever truly ready to have a baby. There's a lot of on-the-job learning, so to speak. To tell you the truth, there are days when my fiancé and I don't feel ready for this kind of responsibility. But if you spend all your time trying to avoid danger, you'll never move forward."
Hana's eyes widened in surprise. Is…is that true? Have I just been running away all this time…? "But…my parents-"
"Forgive me for saying this, but I think your parents are wrong to decide your baby's fate for you." Her eyes seemed to blaze with a subtle intensity. "You and your fiancé are grown adults, not horny teenagers. They should respect you two and allow you to make your own decision. And if you decided you wanted this baby in spite of the challenges ahead, they should be asking how they can help."
Stunned silent, Hana stared in awe at the woman's convictions. Is she right? Should I have stood my ground against my parents back then?
Her eyes softened, and an embarrassed blush crossed her cheeks. "Gomen, Gomen, sometimes I can get a little too worked up about things. I hope my baby doesn't inherit that trait from me…"
Hana couldn't help but laugh, shaking her head as she assured the woman, "No, it's okay, really. Thank you for being so honest with me, really…" Her eyes flashed in realization. "I just realized, you've been listening to me complain, and I didn't even have the decency to ask your name."
The woman blinked before her lips tugged into an embarrassed smile. "It's Uzuchi."
"Yoroshiku, Uzuchi-san. My name's Morime."
Before Uzuchi could reply, the door opened, and a nurse peeked her head into the waiting room. "Uzuchi Hibiki, the doctor will see you now."
Hibiki nodded, standing up and dusting herself off. "Guess I should go. It was nice to meet you, Morime-san."
Hana nodded. "You too, Uzuchi-san. Good luck to you and your husband. I hope you get that healthy baby girl you wanted."
Hibiki smiled. "Thank you…good luck going forward, whatever you decide in the end."
With that, Hibiki turned and followed the nurse into the halls of the clinic. Once the door closed behind them, Hana was left alone to confront the new thoughts Hibiki's chance encounter had left the indecisive mother-to-be with.
What do I do…? Can I really…? Can I really go through with this? Should I really listen to my parents' demands, or…should I make my own decision?