Her heels splashed into puddle after puddle as Kyou dashed to Kyouta's school. She knew she was late, but with all the incoming traffic and heavy rain, it took what felt like hours to get to Taiyou elementary.
It seemed like the world was playing tricks on her. The crossroad light flashing red as she approached, the roads being blocked as she turned each incoming corner, the heavy rain growing heavier and heavier as she took each step after step. Yup, the world was screwing with her.
Standing next to what seemed to be the ninth stop light. Kyou tapped her foot impatiently as she muttered small curses under her breath. She was already 15 minutes late, and she was the type of person who hated to be tardy. She growing more and more frustrated as seconds passed. With each wasted second, it kept Kyou from seeing her beloved child, and she couldn't keep her baby waiting!
Kyou perked up as she saw the stop light turn green. As she crossed the road, a small smile appeared on her face as she saw that the school was only a block away.
Quickly approaching the school, she arrived to the front gates. But to her surprise, She couldn't find Kyouta anywhere.
Worry struck her. Kyou's Caribbean blue eyes nervously darted around her surroundings, warning signs immediately flashing in her mind that something was wrong. Oh my god...where is Kyouta? I told him to wait in the front of the school. I know that I'm late, but he couldn't have left...Kyouta would have at least called me if he did. Wait! Did something happen to my baby? Did he get into another fight again?! Even worse! Did aliens abduct him?! I know Kyouta is extremely adorable and all but what if-"
Millions of scenarios were running throughout her mind until she heard the soft ring of her phone. Noticing the soft vibration in her coat pocket, she grabbed her phone and saw what seemed to appear to be an unknown number. Flipping her phone open, Kyou pressed the answer button. "Hello?"
"Mama-ssu?"
"Kyouta?!" She instantly felt relieved. She unknowingly let out a tired sigh as she clenched her heart.
"Mama?" Kyouta questioned. "What's wrong-ssu?"
Her relief immediately changed into anger as she started to lecture the boy. "MOU! Why didn't you call me? I was worried sick! Did you know how worried I was? I thought something had happened to you!"
Kyou heard silence on the other side of the phone as she waited for Kyouta to reply.
"Sorry-ssu..." Kyouta mumbled apologetically.
She let out another sigh as she squeezed the bridge of her nose. "It's okay sweetie. As long as you understand that it's bad for you to leave without calling me. I don't want anything bad to happen to you; do you understand?"
"Yes mama-ssu..."
"Don't ever let this happen again! If there ever is a reason for you to go somewhere or leave, make sure you call me first okay?"
"Okay-ssu..."
"And I was so worried! I thought you were abducted by aliens or attacked by an esper!" Kyou continued.
Kyouta fell silent as he continued to listen to his mother's rambling.
"I thought they probed you or something! Gosh they could have copied you! What would I do with two Kyoutas? Well I admit...that would be cute...but-"
"Mama~" Kyouta groaned. "I'm sorry! But you have to admit, you were late-ssu."
"Yes, but you should have called!" Kyou replied as a pout formed on her face.
"I should have called, and I'm sorry about that mama, but this wouldn't have happened in the first place if you were on time-ssu." Kyouta retorted.
Kyou grew silent.
"True..."
"And I rest my case-ssu." Kyouta confirmed as he innerly cheered that he narrowly escaped another lecture from his mother. Kyouta loved her to death, but getting into a lecture with her could go on for hours. He needs to have a talk with Aunty Satsuki about decreasing the amount of sci-fi movies that they were watching lately.
"Fine, I'm sorry! What could I do to make my beloved son forgive me?"
"Hmm...well I think an extra scoop of ice cream will settle it! You're lucky that my mama raised me to be a kind hearted and forgiving person-ssu!"
A small giggle escaped her lips. "I'm so lucky that your mother raised you well Kyouta." She joked. "So where are you right now?"
"Oh! I'm at that ice cream shop. You know, the place that we were gonna get ice cream-ssu."
"The ice cream shop? Why are you at the ice cream shop?" Kyou asked confusingly as she glanced at the ice cream shop across the street.
"Well you were late-"
"Once again, I'm sorry."
"You were late, and it started to rain really, really hard. But I met mister again-"
"Mister? You mean that man who helped you out that one time?"
"Yes~ you have to stop interrupting me mama-ssu." Kyouta whined.
"Oops." Kyou giggled. "Sorry about that sweetie. But continue your story~"
Kyouta cleared his throat. "Well I met that super cool mister again and we talked for a bit. He asked me where you were since I was alone and I said you were late. He then had this great idea of taking shelter from the rain in the ice cream shop as we wait for you there-ssu." Kyouta concluded as he finished his explanation.
Nodding her head with understanding as she heard the explanation, Kyou replied, "I got it. So you are using mister's phone to call me?"
"Yeah. He said that I could borrow his phone to call you once we were inside, he didn't want me to worry you-ssu."
"I'll meet you at the ice cream shop then, I'll be there in a few minutes." Kyou said as she headed towards the crosswalk and pressed the pedestrian walking button.
"Okay mama! I'll see you soon-ssu!" Kyouta exclaimed.
"Alright sweetie. But you aren't causing any trouble to mister are you? I have to give him a thanks for all the inconvenience I caused." Kyou said as the light flashed green. Taking a step forward, she started to walk across the crosswalk.
"No I'm not causing him any trouble! But you can finally meet him!" Kyouta said excitedly. "You'll like him mama!"
"Well I'll be a judge of that~"
"You'll love him! I promise-ssu!"
And with that said, Kyou and Kyouta said their goodbyes and hung up the phone.
Nearing the ice cream shop, the ring of the bell could be heard as she entered the ice cream shop. Kyou closed her wet umbrella, giving the umbrella a good shake as she let the excess water drip to the ground. Kyou silently apologizing at the semi soaked floor as she placed the umbrella in the umbrella stand besides the door.
Walking into the shop, her blue eyes searched for the small teal-haired boy. But to her disappointment, she wasn't able to find him.
She cursed at herself for not having Kazunari-senpai's hawk eye. Kyou was adamant in high school at having the point guard teach her the skill, since she thought it was cool at the time to have a wider field of vision. Kazunari-senpai, or "Mr. Takao", would teach her the different methods of how he acquire the eye.
He would demonstrate different exercises, have her drink weird drinks to gain "the holy power of the eye," and at some point, he made her try to catch a fly with a pair of chopsticks for an hour. After a month of "training", she eventually figured out that he was teasing her the entire time. Sadly the only thing she gained from the entire experience was the habit of calling Kazunari-senpai, "Mr. Takao" whenever she saw him. The habit unfortunately stuck to her till this day.
Kyou being completely distracted as she pondered on her thoughts, she accidentally bumped into somebody. Kyou blushed as she immediately bowed at her mistake. "I'm sorry for bumping into you just now, I wasn't paying attention." Kyou said as she hung her head low from embarrassment.
"Oh no, it was my mistake as well! I wasn't paying attention either." The stranger said.
Lifting her head, Kyou let out a small laugh as she gave a small smile to the stranger. "Well I guess you and I are both at fault then."
"Kyou?"
What? Slowly opening her eyes, her Caribbean blue eyes widened with shock as she stared at the stranger standing before her.
She felt her heart skip a beat and her breathing became heavier. Kyou felt his gaze pierce through her, stabbing her as if he found the weakness in her heart.
No.
Kyou couldn't feel this way. She had more important things to think about.
Kyouta!
Her heart stilled as she willed herself to be strong. Her top priority right now was to quickly find Kyouta and get outta there as fast as she could. Kyou could barely handle standing in Kise's presence, nevertheless, was ready to tell him that he had a secret son.
She strengthened her resolve and looked straight into the honey colored eyes of the man before her. "Kise-san...what are you doing here?"
He let out a small chuckle, rubbing his neck as he gave her a smile.
She could tell that he was nervous. He didn't grow out of the habit of rubbing his neck whenever he was nervous.
"Well, I had to accompany a companion of mine. We're waiting for his mother."
"I see..." She drawled as she glanced at her surrounding. Kyou still searching for the teal haired boy. "I'm meeting someone as well..."
"Oh really?"
"Yes." Kyou said as she gave him a fake smile, trying to act as politely as she could. "I'll be on my way the-"
"MAMA-ssu!"
He walked out of the bathroom, throwing away the wet paper towel as Kyouta walked back to the booth. Once he arrived there, he found that it was empty of a certain blonde haired man. Looking around the ice cream shop, he spotted the tall man.
Kyouta noticed that he was talking to someone. Slowly approaching Kise, Kyouta realized that Kise was talking to his mother.
Watching the two together, he suddenly felt a warm feeling in his chest. He didn't know why he was having such feelings, watching the two strangers stare at each other, he just felt "it."
He was too young to understand, but he feel that there was something going on between the two. He could see it in their eyes. Mama's eyes were usually kind and calm, but they were now harsh, eyes filled with emotions of sadness, fear, and hurt. The same could be said about Kise. The older man's cheerful and warm eyes were suddenly filled with surprise, regret, want...and this other feeling that he couldn't describe.
Kyouta shook his head and slapped his cheeks. Maybe it's just my imagination? Ignoring the weird feeling in his chest, Kyouta ran towards his mother, he becoming more joyful from the sight of her. Kyouta let out a loud yell as he wrapped his small arms around her waist. "MAMA-ssu!"
His mother yelped with surprise at the sudden impact. She looked down at him, a smile adorned her face as she gently stroked his head.
As he released her from his tight hold, Kyouta gave his mother a bright smile. "I missed you mama! What took you so long-ssu?" Kyouta questioned as he cutely tilted his head.
Mama let out a small laugh, squatting down to his eye level as she continued to stroke his head. "There was a lot a traffic when I was walking here...I'm sorry that I'm late." She mumbled.
Kyouta began to grow worried as he heard her soft spoken voice, she sounded so lively on the phone earlier. What happened? "Are you okay mama? Is there something wrong?" He became more panicked. He gently grabbed her hands. "Do you need to go to the doctor-ssu?"
Mama silently shook her head. "I've been a little tired lately, it's really nothing."
When his mama said it was nothing, it meant something. Looking at her, he could definitely tell that something was wrong. Nodding his head with assurance, he met her eyes. "We need to take you home-ssu!"
Her eyes widened with surprise. "But what about your ice cream? I promised you some ice cream to celebrate for you becoming a starter and captain."
He waved his hand with disapproval as he grabbed her hand. "It's okay, we'll come at a later time when you're feeling better-ssu."
"Are you sure?" Mama questioned.
"100%! But first..." Kyouta turned to look up at the silent man that quietly observed the two. "I want you to meet someone first mama-ssu!"
It was as if time stopped. He stood there, completely frozen as Kise watched the family interact with each other. A million thoughts of confusion running through his mind as he tried to sort out his thoughts.
"What are you? Practically five-years old?"
"Seven actually, and don't you forget-ssu!"
Kyouta is seven-years old, which means she had him when she was twenty-one? Wait...he had to take in account that her birthday is on January 1st and that a woman is usually 9 months pregnant...so Kyou was nineteen?!
"Where are your parents?"
"My mama's at work and I don't have a father-ssu."
"Sorry, Is he alive?"
"I don't know, she never really talks about him."
She was pregnant, but was there anybody to support her during that time? Damn...Kyouta never once met his father? What am asshole to never show up even once.
"So you're probably mad at your dad too?"
"Well I'm mad at him for hurting my mama, I knew she loved him a lot. She would sometimes cry herself to sleep and she would always have nightmares. Mama thinks I never notices though. And no I'm not mad at him because I don't know the whole reason why he left in the first place. Mama never told me anything, so if he gave me a valid reason when he comes back, I guess I could forgive him-ssu."
Kyouta is such a great kid. Kyou is lucky to have him.
"But if I ever had a father, I hope he's as cool as you mister."
It was as if all the puzzle pieces finally fit together. Kise's eyes growing wide with realization as he started to stare at the small seven-year old boy.
"Could I be?"
-Flashback-
Kise awoke with the sunlight shining down on his face. The windows swayed from the breeze entering the bedroom window.
He woke up with a shiver, the feeling of cold enveloping the entire room. Kise slowly open his eyes, blinking his eyes blearily, he groggily rubbed his eyes as he pried himself off the bed. Groping the sheets beside him, Kise discovered why he was cold. His sleeping partner was missing. Kise usually relied on her warmth to keep him toasty during the night.
"Kyou?" Kise called.
He was replied with silence...well, until he heard the sounds of his girlfriend's vomiting.
Kise immediately felt panicked. Jumping up from his bed, Kise frantically rushed over to the bathroom. Pounding the door a gently as he could, Kise instantly grew worried. "What's wrong Kyou? Are you alright?"
He could hear Kyou's incoherent mumbles on the other side of the door. "Kyou?"
"I-I'm alright...I'll be out soon Ryouta."
Even with her words of assurance, he was completely unconvinced that she was alright.
Kise stood patiently by the bathroom door, listening to the sounds of his girlfriend vomiting into the toilet. He wanted to be there for her, rubbing her back or to do something...anything to comfort her, but she wouldn't let him.
Kyou had been throwing up at random intervals for the past week and he was growing more and more worried. She had told him that it was just a small virus that's been going around, most likely a stomach flu, but still. Kyou still wouldn't let him in when she was throwing up.
Was she embarrassed to be seen in such a weak state? If that was the case, it was a dumb thing to embarrassed about. He's her best friend and her boyfriend of seven years, and she was embarrassed about him seeing her puking? He shook his head. He loved Kyou, he really did - seriously, he had no idea how much he loved her. But she sometimes worry about the strangest of things.
After a couple of minutes , he heard the toilet flush and the faucet started running. The familiar sound of the door unlocked before she stepped out. Her teal blue locks were tied back in a messy bun and her pretty face was all puffy and exhausted. She was a disheveled mess.
"You okay?" He asked as he brushed her bangs to the side.
"Yeah...I'm fine." She answered sleepily, as she started to nod off. Kyou swayed and fell back against his chest with a soft oof.
"You sure? Cause you don't look so hot."
Nuzzling into his chest, she looked up at him with her tired blue eyes. "Thanks you Ryouta. That's just the thing every girl wants to hear from their boyfriend."
Kise chuckled as he lead her to the bed. "Sorry about that...but it's just that you've been so sick lately and I've been worried."
Shaking her head silently, her long eyelashes fluttered slowly. "It's probably nothing Ryouta..." She leaned against his chest, drawing random patterns and shapes along his chest as she let out a contented sigh. "It'll probably past soon..."
He then realized that the teal-haired beauty was no longer awake, as her rising and lowering chest was a sign that her breath was coming at regular deep intervals.
Kise himself soon felt sleep coming upon him as he listened to the quiet even breaths of his girlfriend. Just before his eyes closed, he thought he heard Kyou whisper 'Love you'.
-End of Flashback-
So it wasn't just a stomach flu...it was morning sickness?! But that could only mean..
"You're my son..." Kise whispered breathing heavily, head turning to look at his son.
His words were not left unheard. Looking at the teal haired woman crouched beside her son, he notice her small twitch as her pair of blue orbs met with his honey ones. Kyou's once harsh blue eyes filled with pain as tears started to swim around her eyelids, her tears threatening to fall.
She slowly stood up, turning her head away as she silently wiped her tears. How many times has she cried like this?
They sent each other silent glances, carefully watching and observing each other until he felt a small tug to his sleeve. Looking down, he saw his son giving him the brightest grin he had ever seen.
Kyouta smiled as he pulled the petite woman towards the tall blonde haired man as he grabbed a hold of his sleeve. "Mama, meet my friend, the mister who helped me out a lot, and mister, this is my mama, the person that means the world to me-ssu."
They stared at each other in silence, both unsure how to act now that they were in front of the boy.
Kyouta gave the two a look of confusion. "Is there something wrong Kise-san?" He said as he glance at Kise. "You seem a bit out-ssu."
Opening and closing his mouth, he was completely stunned. Staring into Kyou's eyes, the only thing he could do was whisper her name. "Kyou..."
Kyou started to tremble at the sound of his voice, the years of putting up so many barriers and shields were shattered in merely a few seconds. Memories started to flash throughout her mind, tears once again forming as she silently wiped her eyes.
Kyouta once again panicked. "Are you okay mama?" He turned to look up at Kise, frowning at the man who made his mama cry. "Do you know my mama-ssu?"
"I-" He started but was cut off.
"We're leaving." Kyou said as she picked up Kyouta's backpack.
"What-ssu?" Kyouta questioned as he grabbed his umbrella.
"We have to go home now sweetie." Kyou gently held Kyouta's hand and headed out of the door.
"I need to talk to you-" Kise said as he stepped towards her.
"Well I don't!" Kyou retorted as she exited out of the door and stepped out into the heavy rain.
"Mama you're getting wet-ssu!" Kyouta exclaimed as he immediately opened his orange striped umbrella. The small boy jumping in the rain and tip toeing to his maximum height, struggling to get the umbrella to cover his mother's soaked self.
Kise cursed as he watched the two get further and further away. Quickly grabbing his stuff as he ran out the door. Kise grabbed his umbrella and pulled it open. He turned the corner and spotted them, Kise ran to them as fast as he could.
His sneakers splashed into puddle after puddle. With each step, he became faster and faster. Heaving huge breaths, he screamed for his legs to move faster, to move faster and faster until he reached her side.
He needed an proper explanation. Kise just found out that he had a son, a seven year old boy that was grew up without a father. Why didn't Kyou tell him? Why did she have to keep it a secret? Was she hoping that he would never find out?
"Look, I need-"
"I don't care what you need! Go away Ryouta!" She yelled as she quickened her pace.
"Wait!" Kise exclaimed as he tried to follow them.
"Don't move!" She said stopping, her figure became more and more soaked as she stood. Her back stood firm. Forcing him to stop as he watched her.
Kyouta nervously watched the two. Eyes darting back and forth with confusion.
"Try moving one more step, and I swear...I swear you are going to regret it..." Kyou warned, her eyes once again full of steel. She glared at him, pausing before she quickly turned back and walked off, Kyouta close behind her.
Minutes passed as he watched her retreating figure. He listening to the heavy rain drops bounce off his umbrella and trickle down the worn material.
Kise ran after her.
As he reached her, Kise took his umbrella and held it over Kyou's head. "You're getting wet."
Water trickled down his hair and across his eyes. His clothes grew soaked as seconds passed. The fabric of his clothing becoming damp, sticking to his skin.
Kyou would only look ahead and continue her pace while Kise silently shielded her from the rain, keeping an arms distance away.
He felt as if something was stuck in his throat. He had to say something. Kise opened and closed his mouth, willing himself to make a sound.
I love this woman...this captivating, elegant, absolutely enchanting woman. This is my chance...my chance to fix the mistakes I have made in the past. I know it'll be hard but I have to at least try. I have to say something! Anything!
"I-I know I made a lot of mistakes in the past." Kise started. "But don't you think it's about time we talked about this?"
Kyou continued to ignore him, seeing this, Kise let out a tired sigh. Pushing his wet bangs out of his face as he stared at her.
"I know we have a bad relationship and a lot of things happened between us...but we can't let our selfishness get in the way of someone's future." Kise looked down at Kyouta. "Don't you think we should talk? To finally have a real conversation that doesn't involve any screaming or leaving with one of us full of tears?"
Silence.
"Do you hate me that much? Can you not even stand my presence to be in the same room as me?" He stepped in front of Kyou, making her halt. "Please...we have to talk. 30 minutes. All I need is a talk, an explanation...just tell me what happened. You can at least give me that."
She wouldn't even look at him. Kyou continued to stare at the ground, tears forming in her eyes as she clutched her dress. Knuckles turning white as she started to tremble.
"Please Kyou...give me a chance." Kise pleaded, turning his eyes to the ground.
The rain endlessly poured, pounding on their unmoving bodies with hard cold drops of rain.
Kyou looked up at him, wiping the tears away from her eyes, he heard it.
"Fine." She whispered. "Only thirty minutes...nothing more, nothing less."
Kise's honey colored eyes widened with surprise. Nodding his head as a wide smile appeared on his face, he shoved his umbrella into Kyou's hand, giving the teal haired girl a shock.
"Stay here. I parked my car nearby so I'll come pick you two up." Kise gave the two a last glance before he turned. "I'll be back."
And with that said he was gone.
Kyou silently watched him as he ran, his large back get further and further away. With everything that just happened, her mind and body were completely exhausted. Kyou suddenly clutched her forehead, wincing at the sharp pain inflicted in her forehead.
"What's wrong mama? You look like you're about to cry-ssu." Kise said as he examined his mother's face.
She shook her head. "I'm fine." Kyou smiled weakly. Giving Kyouta a reassuring squeeze. I'm just...tired."
Kyouta nodded his head with understanding. "Alright...if you say so-ssu." He squirmed in his place, his nerves starting to get to him. "But did you know Kise-san? You two seem to know each other-ssu." Kyouta asked.
Kyou just kissed his forehead, holding his hand tighter as she rubbed his wrist with her thumb in a soothing motion.
"It's a long story...I'll tell you about it someday."
With a nod of his head, the two fell silent. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of the passing traffic and the heavy pitter patter of the rain.
It has been so long since I have last updated and I have to sincerely apologize for that. I really don't have any other excuses but my extreme case of writer's block, but that was the whole gist why I couldn't update. I couldn't really picture how this chapter would have went, but I'm glad that I was finally able to write it. ( The best part to me being Takao's Mr. Miyagi reference. I can totally picture him doing that. )
I will try my best to update more. There is a lot of drama and love in the future so stay tuned and I hope my supportive readers and followers would enjoy this story as much as I do. You guys are the best and I hope that you would support and leave me a comment or positive critic about my work.
Have a nice day and a good night. Ja ne~ my lovelies.