Note: This chapter contains mild sexual content.
-Faith, Love, and Forgiveness - Chapter Forty-two: Obsession-
Yuri's Bakery - The next morning
Wearing her black and blue plaid, knee-length skirt, black stockings, and a black turtleneck, Lucy pulled on her warm, thick coat and walked to the bakery. It was just before 8 am when she let herself in using Yuri's keys.
Eight dozen cookies might sound like a lot, but it really wasn't as tall an order as one might've expected. The cookie dough had already been made in advance, all she had to do was shape it and stick it in the oven, and that could wait until about 9 am.
As the pregnant Diclonius was doing the usual prep work, she heard someone knocking. She put down the mixing bowl she was using and walked upfront to find a police officer banging on the door. Walking over, she unlocked it and told the young-looking officer the bakery wasn't open yet.
"Ma'am, who are you, and what are you doing in there?"
The question came as something of a surprise to the pink-haired girl.
"I'm Kaeda, and I'm trying to get ready to open."
"Let me see your ID."
"Why?"
"Because I said so!"
Lucy wasn't exactly thrilled about being interrupted, but dug it out of her purse and gave it to him anyway. The quicker the officer left, the quicker she could get started.
"A Diclonius, huh? Do you own this establishment?"
Without a word, she pointed to the "Yuri's Bakery" lettering on the front window.
"Look, I'm kind of busy, so would you just tell me what you want?" Lucy asked in annoyance.
The officer gave her a dirty look and radioed dispatch to run Lucy's information. Clearly, he was new to the department, and quite possibly even the profession. As they waited, he took the opportunity to ask her a few rather personal questions.
"I couldn't help but notice you're knocked up. Do you know who the father is?" he asked. "If you don't, that's fine, there are plenty of girls out there who like to sleep around. it doesn't make you a slut or anythi-"
"Yes, I know who the father is. I'm married to him." she interrupted in irritation. Not only was this idiotic loser holding her up, he was doing it by asking invasive questions and implying she was some kind of whore.
"Did you marry him before, or after you got pregnant?"
"That's none of your business!"
"Come on, you can tell me. I won't judge you."
"I don't CARE if you judge me. It's not like I give a damn what you think anyway."
The rookie just smirked at the pink-haired girl. All the other girls he'd questioned like this had been too timid and "polite" to refuse to answer whatever he asked. This girl wasn't like the others. Unlike them, she might actually be fun.
Suddenly, the radio beeped, and Lucy heard the dispatcher give the cop the results.
"Kurosawa, Kaeda Lucy. Address is 11-8 Onarimachi, Kamakura. Non-Human advisory. Signal 1."
"Signal 1" Lucy knew, was code for "No active warrants".
He gave her a skeptical look as he handed her ID back.
"Well, I think you're up to no good." he informed her.
"Well, I think you're an idiot, so have a nice day." she smiled before shutting and locking the bakery door. As she headed back to the kitchen, the rookie cop returned to his patrol vehicle and watched Lucy through the glass as she went about getting the store ready. After nearly an hour, he finally left.
One hour later
The pie crusts came pre-made, so all she had to do was prepare the filling and make enough dough to cover it. Yuri usually made apple and blueberry, as they always sold well. Erring on the side of caution, she decided to do the same.
With that done, she made the dough for the assorted tarts and pastries she'd undoubtedly be making, then started on the cake batter and frosting. Yuri didn't really have a set list for cakes like she did the pies, so Lucy played it safe and decided on chocolate, red velvet, vanilla, and an unfrosted pound cake.
At 9:15 am, she brought out the cookie dough she'd made the day before. By 9:30 am, she had all eight dozen on cookie sheets and in the oven. While waiting for them to bake, she brewed tea and coffee, made the filling for the assorted tarts and pastries, and finished the coverings for the pies.
By 10:30 am, the cookies had been picked up, the pies, tarts, and pastries were done, and all but one of the cakes had been frosted.
When she sat down to have a few cookies and a glass of tea at just after noon, she was tired, sore, and covered in flour and frosting, but was also immensely proud of herself. Thankfully, business was slow, and most of the customers either wanted something she'd already made, or something that didn't take long to make.
At 1:30, Kouta and Yuka stopped by to check on her, and both were utterly amazed at just how much she had accomplished entirely on her own.
"Are you really the only one here?" Yuka asked as she poked around the back, half-expecting to find Yuri hiding somewhere.
Kouta just shook his head and handed Lucy the lunch he bought her. She smiled, blushing as he took a napkin from the bag and gently cleaned some of the frosting off of her face. As he did, she leaned forward and kissed him deeply on the lips.
"Thank you..." she smiled softly. "I'm really happy you came."
"Me too." he smiled back.
The couple kissed again, but this time, Lucy stuck her tongue in his mouth. He grinned and did the same, but stopped her before things went too far.
"I want you too, but not here." he smiled.
Lucy pouted for a moment before giving him a playful smile.
"Want to take a bath with me later?"
"Absolutely."
"Can I come too?" Yuka teased as she returned.
The three of them laughed as Kouta got up and hugged her while she remained seated.
"If you need anything, call us." Yuka offered.
Lucy promised she would, then kissed her husband bye one final time before getting back to work.
Three hours later
The look on Yuri's face was priceless.
She had just gotten out of the patrol car when the officer suddenly asked her if anybody was supposed to be inside the store. When she said no, he pulled out his gun and crept up to the door. Yuri, hiding behind him on crutches, asked him if he saw anything.
"There's someone inside... It looks like a girl with pink hair."
"WHAT?!"
She hobbled her way into the store with the cop right behind her.
Lucy put down the tray she holding and walked over to the older woman.
"Kaeda, what... when... why are you..."
"You... you said you hated having to close for an entire day, so..."
Yuri looked around her bakery in disbelief. The display cakes and pies had already been sold, the glass case of small pastries was empty (but by the crumbs and smeared filling residue, it had obviously been full earlier). Even the "sold-by-the-slice" cake was gone. The store was a bit messy, but Lucy had been in the process of cleaning it when they walked in.
Lucy bowed slightly and sighed. "I'm sorry. I know I should have checked with you first."
Of all the reactions she imagined Yuri having, breaking down and crying was not one of them.
"Oh... bless you, Kaeda..." she wept as she kissed the stunned Diclonius on the cheek.
"You're here alone? Seriously?" the cop asked in awe.
"Yes. I got here just before 8 am." Lucy answered.
"Did you drive?"
"No, I walked."
That just made Yuri's crying even worse.
"She's four months pregnant, and it snowed this morning."
"You walked here in the snow PREGNANT?!"
"It... It really wasn't a big deal..." she tried to say, but Yuri just hugged the younger girl and tearfully thanked her.
"You're something else, you know that?" the officer said. "Now I understand why everyone at the department holds you in such extremely high regard."
"T-They do?" Lucy asked in confusion.
"They do." he grinned. "And no, it's not just because you're drop-dead gorgeous... though you absolutely are."
"I get asked by officers quite often when you're coming back. And not just the men, but the women, too." Yuri tearfully added, her arms still wrapped around the pregnant Diclonius.
Before the flustered girl could ask why, the officers radio came to life, and he was called to come assist a co-worker working a car accident.
After he said goodbye and left, Yuri asked the pink-haired girl something she definitely didn't expect.
"Kaeda, are you interested in working here on a regular basis?"
"You mean permanently, rather than just around the holidays?"
"Yes... It might only be a couple of days a week, but I... I'd love to have you here. I'll pay you as much as I can, even if I have to take out a loan to do it."
"I'd love to, but you don't really have to worry so much about paying me."
"Yes, I do. You absolutely deserve to be paid for your hard work." Yuri smiled with tears in her eyes. "You're such an amazing young lady, Kaeda. I'm so happy I met you."
"Thank you..." Lucy smiled back, also starting to tear up a bit. "I'm happy I met you too."
One hour later
After closing for the day, Yuri offered the Diclonius a ride home. Normally, she'd just walk it, but as exhausted as she was, she was happy to accept.
The moment they walked outside, a police vehicle parked outside the store chirped it's siren to get their attention, and out stepped the same officer who'd given the pink-haired girl such a hard time earlier that day.
"Hi, are you the owner of this business?"
Lucy had, of course, told her about the little run-in she had earlier. She never mentioned a name or even a description, but somehow, Yuri knew this was him.
"I am." she confirmed.
"Is she an employee of yours? I caught her inside of your establishment earlier this morning, and she seemed a little evasive with her answers to my questions."
"This young lady is my assistant manager, and she's allowed inside my bakery any damn time she wants to be." Yuri answered.
"That's fine, it's your business, after all. I was just concerned she might have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol when I spoke to her. If she's coming to work drunk or high, it can leave you open to all kinds of problems."
"Why would you even think that?" Lucy asked.
"One, you seem unsteady on your feet, and that typically means that the person is under the influence. Two, you didn't want to answer my questions, which means you're probably hiding something. Three, your eyes looked a little watery, which is common in people who drink or use drugs. And four, you were slurring your words quite a bit... plus, I could smell the odor of an intoxicating substance coming from your person."
"You're a liar. I don't drink, smoke, or use drugs. If I "looked unsteady on my feet" it's because I had to walk thirty minutes to get here... through the snow... while four-months pregnant."
"So you haven't consumed any alcohol or taken any drugs today?" he asked.
"For the last time, NO!"
"Then, you wouldn't object to me searching your purse, right?" he asked.
"Yeah, I would. I'm tired, I'm cold, and I want to go home to my husband." Lucy replied.
"If you don't let me look, I'll call for a K9 unit, and you can stay put until they get here."
Lucy just glared at the little ass-clown and finally handed him her purse. It only took a few seconds before something caught his attention.
"What are these pills in here?" he asked, holding up a small, unmarked bottle.
"They're prenatal vitamins" Lucy said.
"Where did you get them?"
"From my Midwife."
"Can you hurry up?" Yuri asked. "She's exhausted and really wants to go home."
"She's not going anywhere until I'm satisfied these aren't a controlled substance."
"Just call her Midwife. She'll tell you." the older woman suggested.
Lucy gave him the number, and it wasn't long before she confirmed the pills were indeed just vitamins. He put them back and handed the purse to Yuri.
"Turn around and put your hands on your head so I can make sure you don't have any drugs or weapons on you."
Lucy and Yuri exchanged looks of disbelief.
"Excuse me? Why?" Lucy asked.
"I just told you why. I'm going to search you for drugs and weapons."
"No, you're not. You have no reason to, and you certainly don't have consent."
"I'LL decide if I have a reason, not you. Stop arguing and do it."
"Ok, this is ridiculous!" Yuri protested. "Why are being such a little prick to her? She hasn't done anything!"
Lucy really didn't want this loser to touch her, but decided to comply so they could just hurry the hell up and go home.
"Oh, I almost forgot... take your coat off."
"Are you crazy?! It's 5 degrees out here! " Yuri yelled.
"Yeah, that's called 'winter'..."
Lucy again did as requested, handing her thick coat to the older woman, who was loudly (and rather angrily) berating the rookie for his treatment of Lucy.
"There's snow on the ground, and you're making a pregnant girl take her coat off so you can fish for any thing you can to arrest her!"
"I'm making sure she isn't carrying drugs on her."
"She doesn't use drugs!"
"Well, I'm also making sure she doesn't have any guns or knives on her."
"She doesn't need guns or knives! She's got vectors!"
"Look, the longer you interfere, the longer I'm gonna make her stand here in the cold, ok?"
Noticing the pink-haired girl was starting to shiver, Yuri shut up, but was clearly pissed off.
"Does your skirt have pockets?"
"N-No..."
He ran his hands over her slender body as he "searched" her. Lucy didn't object when he slid his hands over her stockings, or when he grazed the sides of her breasts, but as he reached a hand under the bottom of her shirt and touched her bare stomach, she turned away to block him from making contact.
"Hold still."
He tried again, and again, she resisted.
"Don't do that. I'm pregnant, and I don't want you near my baby." she warned.
He ignored her and tried it anyway. This time, she pulled away and turned to face him.
"Maybe you didn't hear me... I said, I don't want you near my baby." Lucy glared.
"I don't care WHAT you want. If you pull away from me again, you're gonna get hurt." the officer told her with a smug smile on his face. "Pregnant or not, I have no problem throwing you on the ground."
All four of Lucy's vectors immediately and visibly materialized, and she looked at him with an expression of pure, murderous warning on her face.
"Try it, and it will be the last thing you ever do." she calmly told him. "That's my husband's child, and I WILL kill you to protect her."
He SO wanted to call her bluff, but even though he was indeed new to Law Enforcement, the Academy had a seminar on the Diclonius race, and he knew no amount of backup and using his angry cop voice would save him if she turned out to be serious.
He decided not to push his luck, and told her she could put her hands down.
As soon as her vectors disappeared, Yuri immediately wrapped her thick coat around Lucy and tightly hugged the shivering girl while calling the cop an increasingly profane string of insults.
Then, the rookie announced he wanted to search Yuri's car, to which she flat-out told him to fuck off.
With no other options, he wished them a good afternoon and left, but not before letting Lucy know he'd be keeping an eye on her.
After they got in, the older woman turned the heater on, and they remained parked until the pregnant girl had stopped shivering and was talking normally again.
"The nerve of that little son of a bitch!" Yuri seethed. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"I'm sure... but thank you." Lucy smiled gratefully. Her employer smiled back as they started to leave.
As they drove to Kaeda House, the two girls agreed on a work schedule that would have her working noon to close on Thursday and Friday, and open to 1 pm every other Monday.
"I'll give you ¥15,000 a week, even if it's just for two days." Yuri offered her. "That's ¥60,000 a month. If you need more, I will do whatever I have to to make sure you get it."
"You really don't have to-"
"Kaeda..." Yuri warned, giving the Diclonius a stern look.
Lucy, at a loss as to what to say, just shelved the protesting.
"You really are an incredible young woman..." the older woman smiled. "I can't wait to meet your daughter for the first time."
Lucy's smile just grew bigger as a noticeable blush appeared on her face.
"Thank you, Yuri..."
When they arrived, Yuka invited the woman to stay for dinner. She gladly accepted, and Yuka helped her inside.
While they ate, she told them about Lucy's "promotion", for lack of a better word.
"That means free cookies, right?" Nana teased. Yuri just laughed and smiled at the Sipelit.
"If Kaeda wants cookies, I'll gladly give them to her. She's more than earned them, especially after having to put up with Officer Jackass..."
"She told us about him when me and Yuka brought her lunch." Kouta said.
"He was waiting for us when we left." Lucy added.
"For real?" Nana asked. "Why?"
"He first asked if I worked there. When she said yes, he told her he thinks I was either drunk or high this morning, and wanted to go through my purse. He found the vitamins Ebihara gave me, and we had to literally call her so she could tell him that's what they were."
"Are you serious?!" Yuka asked.
"Then, he started insisting she take her coat off so he can search her person. That little prick actually made your pregnant wife stand there shivering in 5 degree weather so he could go on a fishing expedition to try find a reason to haul her to jail!" Yuri ranted. "When he tried to slip a hand under her shirt and touch her bare stomach. she pulled away, and he threatened to throw her on the ground if she did it again.
Predictably, this did not go over well AT ALL, especially with Kouta and Nana.
"When he said that, I showed him my vectors and said I'd kill him if he tried."
"Good!" her family said together.
"I really, REALLY hope you go file a complaint, Kaeda. That is bullshit!" Yuka angrily replied.
"I am. I think Yuri wants to do one too." Lucy responded.
"Damn right I do! I tried to argue with him about it, and he tells me the more I talk, the longer he's going to make her stand there freezing!"
Kouta reached over and pulled the pink haired girl closer. Lucy closed her eyes and smiled as she leaned against her husband.
"If he pulls something like this again, call me, ok?"
Lucy promised she would, and the six of them moved on to a different subject.
Kaeda House - Later that night
Lucy and Kouta had just reached the bathroom door when she heard Nana call her name. The couple turned to see Nana, Yuka, and Mayu coming their way, all holding bath towels.
"You wanna come bathe with us?"
The pink-haired girl looked from them to Kouta and back to them. "Um... We were planning on taking a bath together, actually. Sorry, but I'd be happy to next time."
"Come on, Nyu! It's been months since we all took a bath together!" Mayu protested.
"I know, but me and Kouta already made plans to take one together. I'm sorry, but I can't."
"You can take one with Kouta anytime!" Yuka said.
"I can take one with YOU anytime!"
After almost five minutes of arguing, Lucy finally gave in... kinda.
"Alright, but only if Kouta gets to come too." she smiled. "I don't think it's fair to completely change plans on him so suddenly, especially since it was my idea in the first place. If you're ok with him joining us, I'd be happy to."
"Are you nuts?!" he whispered into her ear. Lucy just smirked at him and whispered back, "Don't worry about it, there's no way in hell they're actually going to say yes to something like that."
Ten minutes later
"I really hate you right now..." Kouta sighed as he crossed his arms to cover himself.
Lucy couldn't believe they actually went along with it. Nana? Sure... Yuka and Mayu? Hell no, not in a million years.
"Hey!" Nana grinned. "You wanna come over here with us?"
"No." he replied. After he got in, he had backed away as far from everyone else as possible, and refused to move. Like his wife, Kouta couldn't believe they accepted her compromise. At first, he thought it was just a joke, but that went right out the window when Yuka asked him to close his eyes until they were in the water.
Lucy felt horrible about the uncomfortable spot she had put him in, but decided to wait until they were in bed before apologizing.
"Yuka's parents were right, you really DO beautiful pregnant!" Mayu smiled.
"You really think so?"
The pink-haired girl blushed when the rest of her family agreed. She personally thought she looked about the same as any other pregnant girl, but it was still nice to know they felt that way.
Gradually, Kouta loosened up enough to participate in conversations, though he still wouldn't budge, and stayed far away from everyone else. He was doing his best to avoid looking at the other girls, especially Yuka. This did not go unnoticed by Nana, who stood up with an innocent expression on her face and casually asked him:
"Kouta, do my boobs look weird to you? I think the left one doesn't match the right one, but I need a second opinion."
"Ok, girls, time to get out!" Yuka interrupted. Kouta gave her a grateful smile as she wrapped a towel around herself and left. As soon as him and Lucy were alone, his wife looked down at the water and sighed.
"Are you mad at me? It's ok if you are, I... I think it's fair to say I deserve it."
Kouta just shook his head and moved closer to her. "Don't worry about it. I'm not mad."
"You're not?"
"No. I didn't think she'd go for it either." he replied. Lucy smiled in relief, relocating from sitting beside him to sitting down on his lap. "Thank you. Don't worry, I promise I won't do that again."
He smiled and held her tightly against him, kissing her neck and shoulders as he told her how much he loved her and how happy she made him.
Lucy smiled softly at her husband, telling him in turn how much SHE loved HIM.
"I know how strange this is going to sound, but I realized something earlier..."
"What?" he asked curiously.
"I LOVE being pregnant!" she blushed. "I know that's weird, but it's true. I love knowing our daughter is growing inside me. I love knowing that the man who got me pregnant is going to help me love and raise her... I even love how much I'm showing!"
"Why is that weird? I'm pretty sure most mothers felt the same way you do."
"You think so...?" she smiled. "Thank you, Kouta. I was worried you'd think it was dumb... or strange, or... something like that."
"Not at all..." he smiled back.
Lucy put her arms around his neck and leaned in for a kiss, which her husband was happy to give her. Naturally, she wasn't satisfied with just one, and in an extremely short period of time, it turned into full-blown making-out.
The pregnant girl gasped softly when he took one of her nipples into his mouth and gently licked and sucked on it. Then, her moaning got a bit louder after he did the same thing to the other one. It was then the aroused Diclonius stood up and reached for his manhood. She slowly started to lower herself onto it, but was stopped before she could guide him inside her.
"Not here."
When a confused Lucy asked him why they couldn't have sex in the bath, Kouta resisted the urge to laugh as he reminded her that they were in the bath that all five of them had to share.
"It's not that I don't want to, I just don't want to in HERE."
Lucy gave this some thought. They shared the bath, not the bathwater, and it wasn't like the next person to use it wasn't going to drain and refill it themselves before getting in. Still, she could see her husband's point.
Giving him a mischievous smile, she moved from sitting on his lap to being on her hands and knees on the floor.
"Is this better?" she asked as she lowered her upper body and put her ass in the air.
Kouta just shook his head and smiled.
"You drive me crazy on purpose, don't you?"
Lucy giggled, looking back at her husband with a playful grin.
"Maybe..."
Yuri's Bakery - Two days later
Around 2 pm, Chief Dojima made an unexpected visit to update them on the status of their complaints.
Earlier that day, he sat down with Officer Mitsuo, Mitsuo's direct supervisor, and one of his lieutenants to watch the body camera footage of the encounter. All three of the older cops were absolutely furious when they saw how poorly he treated the two women.
"There is no excuse for this kind of conduct, Officer Mitsuo. The fact that you thought it was ok to make a pregnant woman remove her coat and stand there shivering so you can search her person without any justification for doing so does not bode well for your career." Dojima told him.
The rookie tried to argue that he had justification, but this only made his situation worse.
"Unfortunately, because it's his first offense, the Mayor's Office won't let me give him more than a written reprimand." he apologized. "If it were up to me, I'd have fired his ass on the spot."
"It's not your fault. Thanks for updating us." Yuri said.
As he started to leave, he suddenly stopped and asked Lucy to step outside with him.
She followed the Chief outside, noticing he had a strange smile on his face.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing... I just wanted to say I'm glad you decided on motherhood after all."
She smiled brightly and nodded her head. "I did... and I can't begin to tell you how happy me and Kouta are about it. We're scared to death, naturally, but we're still happy."
He nodded and cleared his throat.
"Would it... I mean, is it ok if I..."
The pink-haired girl nodded and lifted up the hem of her shirt. Dojima reached out and gently pressed his palm against her swollen belly for a few seconds. Lucy could tell he was trying not to cry, undoubtedly thinking about the daughter he never got to see grow up because of the laws in place at the time.
"Don't forget what I said about those doctors, ok?"
"I won't." she smiled.
After she went inside, Yuri asked what all that was about. She had seen him touching her, and knew that wasn't something the Diclonius Queen let just anyone do.
"He..." she stopped to consider her words for a moment. "He told me a few years ago that he once had a daughter who was born a Diclonius, but because of... how things were back then, he and his wife didn't have her long."
"You... You mean..." Yuri couldn't have looked more horrified if she tried.
"The hospital murdered her."
Yuri closed her eyes and shuddered. "I'd heard stories, but didn't know if there was any truth to them."
"It's not just him. He said a couple of his men had Diclonius children that had also been killed by their doctors or hospitals."
The bakery owner just shook her head in disbelief. "At least the laws have changed, though it probably doesn't mean much to those parents who lost a child."
"Probably not, no." Lucy agreed.
Hearing the door open, the Diclonius got back to work, while Yuri walked upfront to greet the customer who just walked in.
A few minutes later, the pink-haired girl was putting a fresh batch of tarts in the oven when she heard Yuri calling her.
When she walked up front, Yuri smiled in amusement and handed her an unusual order form.
"The man who just walked in left this for you. It's very... well, see for yourself."
It looked like a typical cake order until she saw something written in the Special Instructions box: "Please let the pink-haired girl make it. I don't care what kind of cake I get as long as it's made by her. Please please please please please please please please please have her do it."
"...What the hell?" Lucy asked.
Yuri burst out laughing, greatly amused by the special request.
"Looks like you've got fans!"
The pregnant girl didn't know whether to do it, or ask her employer to. She finally settled on making it herself.
"What are you going to make him?"
After giving it some thought, she decided to do a spice cake with peanut butter frosting. The man hadn't specified a size or number of layers, so she went with a two-layer that was about the size of the cake they made Jenine.
"He better not be some horny old man."
Yuri laughed as she watched the younger girl start making the frosting.
Once the cake was out of the oven, Lucy iced the first layer and placed it in the box, followed by the second a few minutes later. She had accidentally made more icing than necessary, and the cake ended up being a little over-frosted.
When he returned an hour later to pick it up, Lucy brought it out and put it on the counter so he could have a look.
"Ohhhh! You're even more gorgeous in person!" he blushed. It would later come to light that the man had seen her on the cover of the Travel Tales magazine Yuri had framed and hung on the wall. When he asked Yuri if she knew her, she told him the pink-haired girl worked there as her assistant.
She also made sure he understood that she was a married woman.
"Thank you." Lucy smiled. "I went a bit heavy on the frosting, I hope that's ok."
"Even if it was covered in broken glass, I'd happily eat every bite of it!"
Lucy didn't really know what to think about a declaration like that. The man looked to be in his mid-twenties, and was a good bit on the plump size. With his glasses, bowl-cut hair, and oddly-patterned, button-up shirts, he kinda looked like a cross between a stereotypical nerd, and a Certified Public Accountant.
"Can you sign it for me?" the pudgy customer asked.
"Sign it?"
"You know, an autograph!"
"...You want an autograph from the pregnant girl that made your cake?"
"No, I want an autograph from the Pregnant Pink-Haired Sugar Goddess who made my cake!"
Lucy could see Yuri struggling not to laugh out of the corner of her eye.
"You want me to sign the cake, or the box?"
"The cake."
"Ok, but aren't you going to eat it?"
"Well..." he said after thinking it over. "Could you do both?"
She retrieved a small bag of cream cheese icing and wrote "Kaeda K." on the cake for him, then used a permanent marker to do the same to the box. When she was finished signing, she charged him ¥3,000 for the cake, and he handed her ¥30,000 and told her to just keep it before leaving with an enormous grin on his face.
Almost immediately, Yuri burst into a fit of laughter.
"Pregnant Pink-Haired Sugar Goddess! Oh my God!"
Lucy REALLY wanted to be irritated over the whole thing, but found she couldn't. Much like the festival, she was happy that she'd brightened someone's day by doing nothing but giving them a few minutes of her time.
"That was very kind of you, honey." Yuri smiled proudly. "Maybe that little girl's mother was right when she said you should be a celebrity."
"I'll pass." Lucy answered. "I get enough unwanted attention as it is already."
"Maybe, but think of all the good you could do with that attention."
Lucy shook her head. "I'd rather stay away from it. I'm happy right where I am."
Yuri nodded. The Diclonius had never liked the spotlight even when she wasn't pregnant and well-known locally, for a variety of reasons.
"Either way, I hope you never lose your willingness to help others. It's one of the things that make you so unique... Pregnant Pink-Haired Sugar Goddess." Yuri grinned.
Lucy glared in annoyance at the bakery owner.
"Keep giving me dirty looks, and I'll put it on a nametag and make you wear it!"
Kaeda House - Two days later
"Be careful, ok?"
Dressed in a pink, midi-length skirt and a white, button-up blouse, Lucy nodded her head with a smile.
"I will."
After one last kiss, she put on her coat and headed off to work. This was the second time she would be opening the bakery solo, and she was praying like hell it'd be a slow day. Just as the bakery came in sight, a police vehicle drove by and parked a little ways down the street. When she passed by, the cop driving got out and called for her to stop.
Of fucking course, it was Officer Mitsuo.
"Good morning, Miss Kaeda. Would you like a ride to work?"
"No." she replied. With that, the Diclonius resumed walking.
"You sure? It's awfully cold out here and I'd hate for you to have to be out in it longer than you have to."
This time, Lucy flat-out ignored him instead of letting herself get baited into a conversation. She knew this was just his way of being petty, and didn't want to waste her time on someone like him.
"You know, I couldn't help but notice Chief Dojima seems to be quite fond of you. Actually, it seems like the entire department is quite fond of you. Do you have any idea why that could be?"
The more Lucy ignored him, the harder he tried to get a reaction from her.
"I'm kind of surprised, honestly... I wouldn't have thought somebody as murder-happy as you would be this popular. I totally understand why you're so fawned over by all the men. I mean, let's just be honest here, you DO look like a good lay, and since you're already knocked up, I'd have to say I'm not the only one who thinks that."
Lucy's smartphone suddenly rang, and she smiled as she fished it out of her purse.
"Hey, did you make it?"
"Of course. I'm heading in now."
"I take it that's your husband." Officer Mitsuo spoke up.
"Who's that?" Kouta asked.
"It's that loser cop from last week. He's following me around like a lost puppy. Are you still coming at 1 pm? Great! See you then!"
Lucy smiled as she unlocked the door and let herself in. Officer Mitsuo followed her almost to the entrance before stopping. After walking in, she shut and locked the door behind her. Mitsuo watched angrily as Lucy hung up her coat, washed her hands, and got to work.
When he turned to leave, he literally ran into his supervisor, Tanaka Seiru. How he managed to sneak up on him like that was anyone's guess.
"G-Good morning Sir!" the rookie bowed.
"What are you doing, Officer Mitsuo?" the supervisor asked, ignoring the rookies greeting.
"I... I was offering a pregnant woman a ride to work."
"Then why is your patrol vehicle all the way down the street?"
"She didn't want a ride, so I just... I offered to walk her to work."
"Did you tell her she looked like a good lay?"
"Of course not! I said "have a good DAY"... not LAY."
The supervisor just laughed in his face, telling the rookie he was just as bad a liar as he was a police officer.
"Officer Mitsuo, I strongly suggest you stay very far away from Miss Kaeda, Miss Yuri, and this bakery. If you haven't noticed, we like them a hell of a lot more than we do YOU."
"Yes, I'm aware of that." Mitsuo answered bitterly. When the bodycam of the "incident" from last week was released, he became the laughingstock of the entire department. Every officer from the Chief all the way down to those who had even less experience than him had openly ridiculed him because of his piss-poor treatment of the women. He wasn't the most popular officer to begin with, and this little scandal certainly did nothing to help that.
"Then I hope for your sake this is the last contact you have with them." Seiru scolded.
This would have been an excellent time for the rookie to apologize and get back to work, but instead, he decided to double-down on his stupidity.
"Why does everyone like her so much? Do you guys have some kind of... "arrangement" with her? You know... a "Get out of jail free" card in exchange for being the department's whore or something like that?"
The next thing the rookie knew, he was on the ground staring up at the sky with a very angry Seiru staring down at him. Had Officer Mitsuo known that many of the department's officers had lost children because of their Non-Human status, he probably could've figured it out for himself why so many of his colleagues were protective of Lucy and Nana.
That, however, wasn't their only reason.
Most of the officers became fond of the Diclonius because of the effort and determination she put into overcoming her murderous past. At first, every one of them had been terrified to come near Lucy after seeing what happened on that video. It had taken quite a while, but eventually, a couple of the braver (read: suicidal) officers had managed to get a few words out of her if they saw her out running errands or shopping with her family.
Working at the bakery had greatly sped this up. Now, the same girl that they could barely get a "Hi" from back then had, just a few days ago, blushed and laughed as they teased her about "eating her cookies like a good girl."
It was nothing short of a miracle. They were still cautious of her, but the terrified, piss-your-pants level of fear was gone.
"That girl is nobody's whore, and she has worked a hell of a lot harder to be where she is than YOU have. She didn't have rich parents or a new car on her 18th birthday or a trust fund. Now, get up, get back in your vehicle, and go do your job while you still have it."
The rookie yelled that he'd be reporting his "assault" to the higher-ups, but Seiru just ignored him. Officer Mitsuo got up, wiped himself off, and sulked his way back to his patrol car.
Unfortunately, this little encounter would only make the rookie's obsession with Lucy worse.
Yuri's Bakery - Five hours later
When Kouta arrived with lunch, he found his wife putting out fresh cookies. She was covered in flour and cake frosting, and as soon as she saw him, a smile appeared on her face and she rushed over for a hug and kiss.
"I missed you." she smiled when their kiss ended.
"I missed you too." he smiled back. "This is from Yuka. As always, she put extra in there so you could share if you wanted to."
The two lovers stood there talking for several minutes, but were interrupted by a beeping from his watch. He sighed and hugged her tightly against him.
"Sorry, but I gotta go." he apologized.
"It's alright." she replied with a smile. "Tell Yuka I said thanks."
With one last kiss and hug, the two parted ways.
A few minutes later, as Lucy got back to baking, frosting, and mixing, Kouta found himself being questioned about his "suspicious activity" by a cop who came out of nowhere and demanded he stop walking. As you might have guessed, it was the same officer as earlier.
"What did you just drop off?"
"At the bakery?" he asked. "It was just some sandwiches for my wife."
"Your wife owns the bakery?"
Kouta shook his head. "Yuri owns it, my wife just works there."
"Who's your wife?"
"Kaeda. She's a Diclonius."
Officer Mitsuo already knew this, of course. He knew the man in front of him was Lucy's husband because he'd just watched them through the glass as they hugged and kissed. He also knew the bag Kouta had dropped off almost certainly contained food of some sort. What it all came down to was the rookie was doing his best to find any excuse to drag the young man to jail.
"When was the last time you used illegal substances?"
"You mean drugs? Never."
"Not even once?"
"Nope."
"What kind of sandwiches were they?"
Kouta paused in confusion. "I don't know, I didn't make them."
Mitsuo looked at him with an expression of skepticism. "Don't you think it sounds a little bit strange?"
"Not really, no. My cousin, Yuka, made them. All I did was drop them off."
"And you're sure they were sandwiches? Did you look in the bag?" the rookie pressed Kouta.
When he said yes, then no, the cop told him to get in the car. A few minutes later, they were back at the bakery. When he opened the back door to let Kouta out, he warned the boy not to do anything stupid.
"If you decide to run, SOMEONE is getting tazed, and it might be that pretty, pregnant wife of yours."
"If you taze her, she's going to kill you, and I'm going to stand there and let her do it." Kouta responded in a calm tone of voice. "Don't forget how lethal vectors are against humans."
As soon as they walked in, Kouta (who was uncuffed, but held by the arm) called her upfront.
"What's going on? What did you do to my husband?" Lucy asked with obvious hostility in her voice.
"Calm down, honey. I'm fine. Do you still have the bag I dropped off?"
"It's right there." she pointed to the stool Yuri would sometimes sit on if she needed a break. She hadn't even touched it's contents yet.
The rookie told her to empty it on the counter. She opened it and pulled out five sandwiches, napkins, a small plastic container of cucumber slices, a small box of candy, and two pieces of garlic bread.
Satisfied, he let go of Kouta, thanked her, and immediately left the bakery.
"What was that about?"
Kouta explained that the cop saw him drop off her lunch, and became suspicious of what was inside it.
"At least he didn't hang around long." Lucy sighed.
After Kouta left for the second time in twenty minutes, the Diclonius Queen finally sat down and ate one of the sandwiches. Sipping her glass of tea, she waved to Yuri when she walked in a few minutes later.
The older woman looked around proudly at her little bakery. Most of the items in the display cases had been sold, the "by the slice" cake was gone, the forms and paperwork were neatly organized, and the store was mostly cleaned.
"You never fail to impress me, honey."
Lucy just smiled and offered to share her lunch. Yuri accepted the invitation, and joined her at the little table in the back.
"That asshole cop just left. He saw Kouta drop the bag off and thought there were drugs in it."
Yuri shook her head, lamenting how low hiring standards for law enforcement had become.
"If you can breathe on your own and write your name, congratulations... you qualify."
Lucy giggled as she handed her boss one of the pieces of garlic bread. "I guess I can see why he might think that, but mostly, I think he was just being a prick. This IS the same cop that we filed complaints against, after all."
As they were eating, the door opened and in walked a couple and their three children. When Lucy started to get up, Yuri motioned for her to stay.
"You've been working all morning, honey. I'll take care of it." she smiled.
When she approached the family and offered help, the mother said they were looking for an ice-cream cake for their children's "pool party".
"I'm sorry, we don't carry ice-cream cakes."
Most parents would, at this point, say "Thank you anyway", and try another store. These two, however, had a complete meltdown.
"What?! What do you mean you don't have ice-cream cakes?!"
"I mean just that; I don't carry ice-cream cakes. I don't carry ice-cream at all."
"Why not?!" the father yelled. "Every bakery in Japan has ice-cream cakes! You're telling me you don't have something that literally every other bakery in the whole country carries?!"
Yuri looked over to see Lucy's head cocked to the side a bit. The older woman knew from her own personal experience this meant the man's screaming had caught her attention, but she wasn't sure if she needed to intervene yet.
"Not every bakery in Japan carries them. I'm sorry you're upset, but yelling and screaming is not going to change things, ok? If you'd like, I'd be happy to try and find someone that does have th-"
"No! I KNOW you carry them, you're just too lazy to go get one!"
"Why are you trying to ruin our children's pool party? Do you treat ALL customers this way?" the woman asked.
"I'm not trying to ruin anything! I don't carry ice-cream! Why is this so hard to understand?!"
"Fine! I'll go get it myself!"
The man pushed past Yuri and made his way into the kitchen, where he was promptly halted by Lucy.
"Get out... now." she warned.
"A Diclonius?! You can't work in a human-owned store!"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I can, actually."
"Hey! Call the police! She's hiding a Diclonius back here!" he yelled.
"She's not really "hiding" me. I'm kinda on a break right now... which you're interrupting."
The man's wife called the emergency number and started asking for help "right away", Yuri and Lucy just smiled at each other.
"When the cops get here, we're going to insist you be charged for this!" the man smugly told the women.
Their smug grins only got bigger when the police arrived. As Sargeant Seiru and his partner, Officer Itsuki walked in, the two women sat quietly and listened to the couple recount how Yuri lied to them about selling ice-cream cakes, and how when the husband tried to go get one himself, he "discovered" she was illegally employing a Diclonius.
"You're a Diclonius?" Seiru asked in feigned shock.
Lucy grinned and shrugged. "What can I say? You got me."
"See? I told you! They're breaking the law!" the woman exclaimed.
If the couple had a few more brain cells, they probably would have noticed the amusement in the officer's voices as they asked them for more details.
"I know she's got ice-cream cakes back there. If this... creature... hadn't stopped me, I'd have found one." the man said.
"You can't let them get away with this!" his wife added.
The cops looked at each other and broke out into massive, shit-eating grins.
"We're going to go search your bakery. If we find any ice-cream cakes, you're going to jail!" Itsuki said.
"And if we find out you're really a Diclonius, you're going to jail too!" Seiru added.
The women just nodded, holding their laughing in as best as possible. The fact that the police were playing along with it made it so much more hilarious. After about ten minutes of Mister and Misses Smug talking shit, the two officers returned.
When the couple were told there were no ice-cream cakes to be had, they went to check for themselves. Yuri just grinned as they became more and more determined to find out where she had hidden them. After several minutes, the couple came back, and demanded to know where she put them.
"Alright, this little game has gone on long enough. You're both going to jail." Itsuki smiled.
"What?! Why?!"
"Because you called the EMERGENCY NUMBER for something that wasn't an emergency, that's why! This bakery has never sold ice-cream anything, and when Miss Yuri and Miss Kaeda told you that, you had a tantrum and abused the number reserved for actual emergencies instead of just trying somewhere else." Seiru explained. "That's a crime, so now you're under arrest."
"By the way, it is 100% legal for a Diclonius to work in a human-owned business. I don't know why you would ever think it wasn't, but you're both idiots." Itsuki added.
Lucy and Yuri smiled cheerfully at each other as the cops escorted the entitled couple outside to their patrol vehicle. Itsuki stayed behind so he could call a friend or relative to pick up the couple's children, while Seiru handled transporting them to jail.
While they waited, Lucy gave both the children and the police officer some cookies and tea (for them) or coffee (for Itsuki).
"We're sorry about our parents... they really embarrass us sometimes." the oldest said.
"I believe it..." Yuri grinned.
"Are those really horns?" the daughter asked. Lucy replied that they were, and, predictably, the girl's next question was if she could touch them.
As Yuri snickered, Lucy patiently allowed the little girl to take a good look at her horns.
"Your hair smells really nice!" she complemented. "And it's so soft, too!"
The pregnant Diclonius smiled and thanked her.
"Are you having a baby, or do you just eat a lot?" the oldest boy asked her, sending the other two adults into a fit of laughter.
"Both."
"Is it a boy?"
"No, it's a girl."
"What's her name?"
"We haven't picked one yet."
"Why not?"
"We... We just wanted to take our time picking one out."
"Are you married?"
"You know, I'm kind of surprised. I didn't expect her to be so patient." the cop whispered to Yuri.
"She's most likely trying to get used to kids asking a million questions." Yuri whispered back. This actually wasn't too far from the truth. What Lucy was actually doing was sort of a self-test to see how patient she could be.
"Yes, I'm married."
"What's his name?"
"Kouta."
"Is he handsome?"
Lucy blushed as she smiled and nodded.
"Why's your face red? Are you not feeling well?"
"She's blushing because she's in love." Itsuki chimed in.
"Are you in love?" the little girl asked.
"Yes, I'm very much in love." Lucy smiled.
When the man's in-laws finally arrived to collect the children, both women were visibly relieved. They apologized profusely for their moronic son-in-law, and thanked them for looking after their grandchildren.
"I can't wait to hear what the guys think about this one!" Itsuki grinned before leaving.
Though she technically was off by 1 pm, by the time the children were picked up, it was after 4 pm, so Lucy just stayed until close. When the two finally closed the store, Yuri insisted that she give her employee a ride home. The pink-haired girl agreed, and dozed off after a couple of minutes, only to then be awakened just as quickly by Yuri.
"Honey, wake up!"
"Wha...?"
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Kurosawa!"
Lucy immediately opened her eyes and looked up at Officer Mitsuo.
"Oh, it's Officer Loser again... what do you want?" Lucy rudely asked.
"Like I was telling Miss Yuri, this vehicle is emitting the odor of illicit substances, so I'm gonna need you to step out for me."
Lucy just sighed and opened the door. As she started to get out, the rookie offered her help, which she declined. Despite her refusal of the offer, Mitsuo ignored her protests and tried to assist her anyway. In the process, he deliberately groped one of her breasts, an act that did not go unnoticed by Yuri or unpunished by Lucy.
"Oopsie... Sorry about that. My hand slipped." he apologized with a smile.
Enraged, the Diclonius Queen brutally struck the officer with her fist, sending him crashing to the ground.
"Oopsie... so did mine." she glared down at him.
"You bitch! You're under arrest for assaulting an officer!"
Rather than try and arrest her himself, he locked himself in his patrol car and waited for backup to arrive. Unfortunately, his backup included Sargeant Seiru, who immediately suspected the young officer had done something to provoke the Diclonius. Following protocol, he politely asked Lucy to sit (without handcuffs) in the back of his car while the incident was investigated.
Less than ten minutes later, over the rookie officer's rants and objections, she was let out. His situation only got worse when the backup officers all agreed there was "No trace whatsoever of any odor of illicit substances" in Yuri's car, and became even MORE dire when Lucy and Yuri accused him of intentionally groping the pregnant girl.
"She wouldn't have hit him if the little pervert hadn't grabbed her breast!" Yuri angrily said.
Mitsuo of course denied this, but true to form, Lucy allowed them to put her in the back of an SUV and examine her. When the female officer confirmed there were in fact visible marks on her right breast, the backup officers had to talk Seiru out of beating Mitsuo to a pulp on the spot.
"I sure hope it was worth your career, Officer Mitsuo! You're going to pay once the Chief finds out!"
The officers apologized repeatedly to the two women and assured them Lucy would not face any charges for attacking the officer, much to Mitsuo's extreme displeasure. Unsurprisingly, both women wanted to file additional complaints.
This time, Mitsuo was suspended without pay for two weeks. After having his ass chewed out by the Chief in front of literally every single officer at the department, Moriyama took a turn and severely criticized him for trying to file assault charges against Lucy behind her back even after she reviewed the evidence and informed him no charges were justified.
By the time she was finished, the rookie was even more despised by the department than he already was.
"This is your last warning, Officer Mitsuo! If you go anywhere near Miss Kaeda, Miss Yuri, or her bakery again, you're fired with no questions asked, and no excuses permitted!" Dojima said, "Your obsession with Miss Kaeda is about to have severe, life-changing consequences!"
When his suspension was over, he returned to patrol a changed man, but it wasn't his behavior or attitude that had changed.
It was his target.
Next chapter: Comeuppance.