Epiphany. [Guren Ichinose x Reader] ➥ Book 2. [Semi-hiatus]

Epiphany ~ Chapter 35.

-Y/N's POV-
It was my final checkup before the baby was due and also the day I was going to be seeing Nico again. I felt particularly heavy today so I wore a thick turtleneck jumper with a floral skirt that reached the bottom of my calves.

I decided it would be convenient to meet with Nico before my appointment, almost like killing two birds with one stone, and as this was my first one without Guren also being there I was fairly nervous.

We had decided that a park which was fairly close to the clinic would be the best option and so I was waiting in the hallway for Naomi to finish getting ready so she can drop me off there,

"Naomi is this a joke? You're going to the liquor store after this not Tokyo fashion week." I yelled up the stairs,

"Y/N are you insane? If you had the mindset of a bad bitch you'd know you have to look good in order to seduce your way into some free booze." She finally showed up at the top of the staircase, her outfit was casual yet stylish. She wore denim jeans and a white top which complimented her athletic figure, with a leather jacket and a pair of black aviators.

She for sure wasn't joking about seducing her way into free alcohol as she wore red lipstick and had her sleek, long hair down, even I would be surprised if her advances were ignored, regardless I still chuckled and shook my head at the whole concept, "You're so extra." I mumbled,

"It's called finesse, actually." She made her way down the stairs and as she approached I began to get a waft of the fragrance she used, "Well, let's go!" She beckoned me out the door.

The ride to the park was fairly quiet but it wasn't a long journey at all, even so Naomi and I still engaged in a small conversation,

"Well are you still keeping the gender of Guren junior a secret, this is your last time to find out."

"Guren junior? I thought it was Y/N junior." I turned to look at her with furrowed eyebrows, "And yes it's still a secret, I've already come this far without knowing, why would I ruin it?"

"Yeah, yeah. Okay. I guess I can wait to find out whether I'll have a niece or a nephew." She rolled her eyes,

I grinned at her, "Compared to everyone else you seem to be the most excited. Even calling them your niece or nephew."

"Oh, of course, I've been wanting to spoil some kids and since I don't plan on having any anytime soon it's going to have to be yours."

"Why do I have a feeling that you wouldn't spoil your own kids though, rich single Aunty."

She chuckled, lowly, "I have no idea what you're talking about." Naomi slowed the car to a stop as we arrived at the park, "When's your appointment?"

"In an hour, I'm supposed to be meeting Nico now and the appointment will be 30 minutes."

"Oh that's perfect, I'll be outside the clinic when you're done." She waved and I waved back as I got out of the car,

She rolled down the window, "Say hello to Nico and his mum for me!" She shouted,

I nodded, as she sped off.

I looked around and managed to find the two seated on a park bench,

And as they spotted me they waved, Nico jumped up from the bench and bolted in my direction,

"Y/N! You look different since I last saw you." He stated the obvious making me laugh,

"Oh yeah?" I picked him up in an embrace, as I walked the two of us over to Yuna, "You look different too, you've grown so big!" I exclaimed,

"Right?!" He agreed before pointing at his mother, "Mama always says I'm her baby." He huffed in slight annoyance,

"You'll always be my baby, Nico." She chuckled, "It's been a long time, Y/N!" She beamed at me,

"It really has," I agreed, "How have the two of you been?" I sat Nico on my lap as I sat down next to Yuna,

"We've been okay! It's been pretty quiet for us but I guess that's good considering what this one went through." She smiled before, fondly ruffling her sons hair, "What about you?"

"Just pregnant." I giggled, "I know you didn't expect that since the last time we saw each other."

She had definitely already clocked that I was pregnant since it was fairly obvious at this point but her reaction was still genuine, when she clasped her hands together when I brought it up, "Congratulations! If you want I can always give you some tips when the little one is born, just contact me." She offered, enthusiastically,

"I'd really appreciate that!" I accepted her offer.

We talked for a while, with Nico inputting a few things when he understood the topic of the conversation and sometimes asking a few innocent questions that would make us laugh,

"Ah, I'm sorry guys but my time is up, I actually have an appointment today for the baby." I stood up, handing Nico over to Yuna who also stood up,

"It's okay, I guess we should set off too, we've got quite a way to go." She nodded,

"Of course, this was fun! Hopefully we can do this again sometime maybe with Guren and the others who helped take care of Nico, I'd love to introduce you!"

"Ah that'd be great, I haven't talked to many people recently; I'd love to make some new friends!" She agreed, "Anyway, I hope to see you soon, Y/N."

"Me too, have a safe journey." I turned to Nico, "See you soon, cutie!" I winked at him, and he waved saying his own goodbye.

I set off on my walk to the clinic which was around 15 minutes away, it was in a nice area with gardens and a lot of green spaces compared to the destruction and derelict buildings I was so used to seeing when I was back in the city serving in the military.

It had been a while and I couldn't help but simply taken in the scenery around me along with the fresh air; I didn't mind staying inside a lot as I've been doing so recently, but I always loved to appreciate the cool breeze against my skin when I got the chance to, it was also the start of spring which was evident by the new flowers beginning to blossom.

The serenity of the atmosphere naturally made me lost in my thoughts; from the way things were going, never did I think I'd find myself pregnant with someone I chose. How I went from the girl who was locked in my bedroom to the person I am now was surreal to me, I could barely comprehend it. Not only had I fallen in love but I made friends which I didn't think I would ever do,

"In this world you don't need friends, you need power." My father would often tell me, which was ironic considering how powerless he really left me.

I sighed, as painful as those memories were, I'd grown to a point I was able to think about them so calmly and almost indifferently, shown by the way I could crack jokes about it every once and a while. Even I was surprised by that the first time I was able to revisit such memories without a heavy heart.

I was so immersed in my thoughts that I hadn't taken into account the change in surroundings, a feeling of someone's presence behind me grew too intense for me to ignore but I had noticed too late.

Before I could even turn around to see if my fears were just merely the work of paranoia, I felt a cloth being pressed against my mouth and nose, and my limbs being held in place, leaving me unable to struggle.
It would've been useless to hold my breath as I was unable to fight the attackers off; but just as I surrendered and began to breathe, preparing to pass out, a muffled scream left my mouth just as I caught glimpse of the JIDA uniform on one of the men.

My heart almost stopped at the realisation as my eyelids grew heavy and my vision darkened; my head wasn't only drowsy from the chloroform on the cloth but also the extreme fear which clouded my heart.