Chapter 3: "An Aftermath of Questions and Answers"
-"There are so many questions for us to ask, and so many little answers; and yet there is even less time to answer those questions. In the process this can, no is, confusing, but at the end it all makes sense."
As everything in this world does, changing from place to place, never being the same even in the most dullest and monotonous situations; so did the cold night with an opal moon, changing into a warm morning with a fiery sun. That morning everything looked peaceful, the sky was clear, the sun was shining and the waves gently hit the shore; this made one of those mornings you just want to lay in bed, just thinking and at the same time forgetting everything about the night before. And so did her, lying in her bed with her eyes closed, even though she was awake since the sun raised; feeling the warm breeze of a summer day, but she couldn't for stay in bed for much longer.
She slowly opened her eyes, scanning and inspecting carefully every detail in her room; this time everything seemed much clearer and visible than what she had seen by night. She saw the bathroom's door; the sofa with some clothes that had been left for her; and the chair and the night table where once had been the cup of blood. But now the floor was clean, no broken glasses or blood stains, or any other remaining proof that could tell that the events of the night before actually happened was visible at a simple glance.
"Was Nathan's visiting just a dream?" Saya repeated to herself as she got up from her bed, slowly putting her feet on the cold floor.
She knew the answer to that question, she was conscious and at the moment everything seemed so real for her; from Nathan's laugh to every single one piece of broken glass in her bedroom's floor. She could remember clearly what Nathan had said and yet there was a small and practically invisible blood stain to the common eye that confirmed that the cup broke spilling blood in her bed. But still everything seemed as one of those bizarre moments, when you feel it's more of a dream than an actual event, either because everything seems so unreal or you cannot believe what actually happened. The confusion made her head hurt, but she couldn't stop thinking about the reaction of her friends and family seeing her awake in the middle of the night, while the floor was covered in pieces of broken glasses and blood stains:
As Joel welcomed her back, Kai barefooted stepped closer to where Saya was sitting.
"Kai wait, there are broken glasses in the floor!!" Saya warned her brother as he was about to step into the glasses. Everybody then watched where he or she was standing, luckily nobody was hurt.
"What happened here, are you hurt?" the blond American asked to the queen.
"You look worried." Julia said looking at Saya.
"I am fine, but there is something I am worried about." she replied.
"If it's about the babies, I can assure you they are just fine." Julia said with a nervous tone.
"It's not about that," the queen sighed, "last night, just before you entered, I saw Nathan in my bedroom. He made me break the cup of blood in my night table."
Both Kai and Joel looked surprised, they were that night at the Metropolitan Opera House, when Saya with her katana had cut in half Diva's last remaining Chevalier; and by their faces you could easily tell they didn't believe Nathan was still alive.
"But you killed him, how can this be possible?" the red haired man yelled.
A moment of silence filled the darkened room, which was only lighted by the opal moon.
"We will discuss that and other things later in the morning, now Saya has to sleep." Joel said as everybody walked out of Saya's bedroom.
A knocking sound stooped her flashback, and returned her to reality.
"You may come in." she said as the door opened.
"Otonashi-san?" a young Japanese nurse asked, "Are you ready for your transfusion?"
Saya nodded and two nurses entered the room with an IV and some food for later on, as the nurses prepared the transfusion she laid in her bed once again.
"This brings back memories." she said smiling as if the blood transfusions brought her some comfort in the confusion she was currently facing.
"Why do you say that Otonashi-san?" the same nurse asked the queen.
"Because some years ago, when I was in high school; I used to get a lot of blood transfusions." she said with a smile as she looked at the window.
"That's good to know," the nurse replied her also with a smile" by the way Otonashi-san your brother told us to bring you a lot of food for you eat, is the food enough?"
Saya blushed, it was embarrassing for her to being asked about food by some stranger; but still she could see that Kai had not forgotten how much does she usually eats.
"It's ok," she said as she looked into the nurse's name tag,"Ritsuko."
The transfusion was over by then, both nurses bowed and left the room; leaving Saya alone while she ate the food Kai had gently instructed the nurses to leave her. As she finished her breakfast, she saw something she had not noticed before: a note. The note, which was on top of the clothes that had been laid for her, it was written on a pink paper, and read:
"Saya, here are some clothes prepared for you, get dressed and go to down the hallway to the library. Everybody will be waiting for you. Don't be late, we will start the meeting at 12 p.m. Joel"
She then left the note aside and watched the clock, it was almost noon; if she hurried she might be lucky and get in time; she then dressed as quickly as she could and walked down the hallway and into the library. The library was huge, full of tall bookshelves and long never ending hallways that went as far as you could see.
She followed the familiar murmurs and voices at the end of the main hall, and then she found them all friends and family sited around a large oval table.
"You are just on time," the chief of the Red Shield said as he watched his pocket watch," we where just waiting for you, Saya. Please take a seat."
Saya did as she was told so, and took the only place left in the table, just between her brother and a now somehow aged Okamura.
"Saya is surprising for us to have you back so early. Do you know why?" Joel asked.
"Yes sir," Saya answered," because as I can see it's still early for me to wake up. Am I right?"
"Is not only that Saya," said the blond doctor." It's because you are pregnant. But I guess you have noticed by now. Right, Saya?"
This time she only nodded and did not spoke.
"Do you feel ok, you look paler than usual." Julia said concerned.
"I am ok, it's just I have too many questions on my mind." Saya said
"There are so many questions for us to ask, and so many little answers; and yet there is even less time to answer those questions. In the process this can, no is, confusing, but at the end it all makes sense." Okamura said as he lean back on his chair closing his eyes.
"Saya he's right, we are here to support you and help you. Remember we are your family and most of all we are your shield. " Joel said in a fatherly tone.
"So feel free to ask, and we will try to answer you." Julia said reassuring Joel's words.
For a moment the murmurs had stopped and now everybody was facing her, at first it was somehow uncomfortable and strange but she nodded again and then looked around, seeing everybody's smiling faces. She noticed how in such little time everybody had aged or changed in someway, and she remained as an eternal sixteen-year-old; but inside she sure felt different, because now she was going to be a mother, somehow and someway she was a mother.
"Uhm," Saya said uncertainly," do you know who is the father?"
"We hoped you could tell us that." Julia said, as the murmurs started again.
"Well I don't remember being raped by any of Diva's Chevaliers" the queen said embarrassed, and then looked at her brother's angry face.
"Saya," the female doctor said," we need to remove the cocoons from your womb, as soon as possible."
"Still there are other questions we need to answer," David interrupted his wife, as Kai got up from his chair, bothered by the conversation, "like the fact of Nathan being alive."
"Maybe her blood lost its power after she killed Diva?" Okamura proposed.
"Or maybe Nathan was not Diva's Chevalier to begin with." the queen said in a low voice.
"What do you mean?" Joel asked concerned.
"Last night, when he entered my room," Saya said looking around," he claimed to have met my and Diva's mother when she was pregnant."
Kai looked at Saya, he just as everybody else in the room, he was amazed by her words; nobody could believe what she had just spoken few moments ago.
"Do you mean he was alive back then?" Okamura asked.
"He didn't answer me how." Saya said with disappointment.
"Did he tell you anything else?" Joel said even more concerned.
"He told me how I could forget the father of my children, one of his "brothers'." Saya said still disappointed but this time she felt the beating of her babies.
A loud beep was heard all over the room, this was a clear signal that the meeting was now dismissed. Everybody got up from their chairs and waited for Joel to leave the room; as everybody waited Saya walked to where Kai had been standing for almost all the meeting.
"Kai, are you ok?" Saya asked concerned about her brother.
"Yes I am ok." Kai said as they exited the library, "It's just as Okamura said we have too many questions we cannot answer in time."
"Well what about if we eat at Omoro and that way I can meet my nieces." Saya said smiling and trying to cheer him up.
Kai smiled back and agreed, "It sound fine to me, along as you help me."
"Why should I?" the queen asked.
"Because with you, Aki and Aoi, I have to cook like six times more what dad cooked for the four of us." Kai complained and Saya laughed.
This aroused more confusion, realizing that as more time passed, the more questions they had about Chiropterans; and true or even false, this revealed how little did the Red Shield knew about them and how much did Nathan knew about her.