estinose: (Default)
estinose ([personal profile] estinose) wrote2008-09-21 11:36 am

Flashfic 9: Old Love Affair (Furry Children universe)

I seem to be on a Kiyoe kick this weekend.

Title: Old Love Affair
Author: Estirose
Universe: Furry Children
Rating: 8+
Characters: Shinoda Kiyoe, Konoe Shika (OCs)
Summary: Kiyoe's great-grandmother tries to cheer her up by telling her something nobody else knows.


Kiyoe sat at the family table, thoroughly tired and stressed, barely paying attention to the television in the background. She had gone through another round of arguments with her family about the baby and what she was planning to do now that her life had been shattered. And being pregnant and stressed was not helping the baby, she was sure.

Her great-grandmother Konoe Shika sat down by her. Great-grandmother wasn't in great shape, and yet she had insisted on visiting the family once she'd heard of Kiyoe's pregnancy. Kiyoe braced herself for another round of criticism.

"So, I hear that you had an unfortunate encounter," her great-grandmother said. "Please, tell me about it."

Kiyoe took a deep breath. "I was kidnapped and raped by an insane teenager. I'm pregnant from it. I'm keeping the baby. There's not much I can say."

"Insane?" her great-grandmother asked gently. "Why was he insane?" Her great-grandmother folded her hands. "Come, humor an old woman; I've heard many extraordinary things."

So, Kiyoe told her. About being kidnapped, of what the boy had said, of how she'd gotten rescued.

Her great-grandmother listened to her, eyes closed, with no comment. "I... see." Gingerly, she turned to face Kiyoe, opening her eyes. "Maybe he was insane, but it's good to keep the baby. I think he or she'll be very special."

"Yes, Great-grandmother." Well, at least it was kind of a form of support.

"Let me tell you a secret, one that will never go beyond this room," her great-grandmother said. "Promise that you will not tell anyone."

"I promise," Kiyoe said. They all humored great-grandmother, since she was so old.

"My husband is not your great-grandfather, Kiyoe-chan," her great-grandmother said, leaning forward and speaking softly. "Your great-grandfather and I loved each other, in our own ways. Just before he went off to fight in a war, we... we knew each other in ways we shouldn't have. Your grandmother was a very special child, and apparently, so are you."

Kiyoe nodded. Great-grandmother was trying to make her feel better, and she should be honored at the attempt. But her grandmother had deserted the family, disappeared one day. Was that what her parents were afraid of?

"He lived along the shore," her great-grandmother said. "We'd exchanged stories for hours. I can't see water without thinking of him. It's a shame that the water carries so much terror for you, Kiyoe-chan, because it's in your blood."

Bowing her head, Kiyoe nodded.

"But you aren't sitting here to listen to the stories of an old woman," her great-grandmother said finally, with a sigh and straightening up. "Just know, that you are special. Because you're my great-grandchild. And I will always love you."

"Yes, great-grandmother," Kiyoe said.

"Now, I would like some tea," her great-grandmother said, and she scrambled to obey.

Her great-grandmother smiled, and Kiyoe wondered what she was thinking of, who was the young soldier that her great-grandmother had loved. But she never got a chance to inquire.