2026-03-08: Lunch at Kimitake's
- Cutscene: Lunch at Kimitake's
- Cast: Yua Ijuuin and her husband, Kimitake Ijuuin
- Where: Kimitake's Home, Konan Ward
- OOC Date: 2026-03-08
- IC Date: Sun, Oct 07 2012 (Forward-dated)
- Summary: Yua attends to lunch for some contacts of Kimitake's he's hoping to schmooze with, but when she isn't keen on having a lot of children in front of them -- and when she excuses herself from lunch after she feels sick -- he isn't quick to forgive her. Somehow, it all winds around to being her fault...
- Content warning: Domestic abuse, reproductive coercion, disordered eating
When Yua steps inside Kimitake's home on Sunday morning, she is dressed not in her tutu but in a sleek green cocktail dress, elegant and refined, complemented by lovely emerald jewellery. "You look lovely," he receives her. "I wasn't expecting you to have dressed already...?"
"Mimi got it for me!" Yua chirps, happily. "Since you said I couldn't wear my leotard, she got me a lot of good things! Isn't it pretty?" She asks, picking up her hem and doing a little spin. "These were her favourites!"
"That's... lovely," Kimitake smiles, with just a moment's disruption. "I see you won't need the things I set aside for you, then... I'll let the maids know for next time."
"Oh," Yua frowns, "did I make them do a lot of work?"
"It's quite all right," he smiles, to her. "Besides, you're more comfortable wearing things she picked out, aren't you? I think it's wonderful you're able to honour her wishes this way."
"... mm!" Yua hums, happily, though there's a moment she feels a little more confused about it. (Are these really Miho's wishes? ... is that really the only question?) "But don't worry," she lifts her bag, "I brought an apron, too! I'll just put things down, and get started on lunch... did you buy the chicken and everything?"
"I did," Kimitake confirms. "Then I'm in your hands... I'll be working in the study if you need me."
She doesn't. In his eyes, it's women's work, and Yua's at least perceptive enough to follow his gaze. But the maid on today is a woman called Chun Qian, and making friends with her helps Yua to take breaks from standing on her poor beleaguered feets as she cooks up a delicious series of cold cuts.
He emerges only one time, at the end of it all, as far as Yua can tell. (She missed the way he went through her phone, while she was busy in the kitchen.) "It smells delicious," he says, with courtesy, and then: "Are you almost done? They'll be here soon." And it's not... an unusual thing to ask, necessarily, except... there's this little edge of entitlement to it.
"Are you hungry?" Yua wonders, thinking the best of him.
"Ha ha, you caught me," he lets her think that.
As they arrive for lunch, the Second Division security officer, Jurou Hademoto, and his wife Hanae are a sight to see. (Hanae compliments Yua on her slim beauty; Yua, who had to drink a meal replacement drink this morning because she couldn't stomach her own breakfast, ducks her head as she thanks her.) It's Yua's job to entertain them, and she does, offering them drinks to get them settled and engaging them on tales of their week... though it's Kimitake who does most of the policing gossip.
"Don't mind me asking," Hanae cuts in, during a moment of silence, turning to Yua in Kimitake's comfortable loungeroom, "but are you pregnant, dear?"
"Oh, um..." Yua smiles, shyly, as Kimitake puts an arm around her, on the couch. A stab of guilt bites through her, as she remembers the girl who noticed last night; she keeps it from her face.
"We are," Kimitake answers for her, smiling. "Yua-san is fourteen weeks along."
"It seems your husband's paying close attention!" Hanae praises him, as she reaches over to take her own husband's hand. "It's so nice when they're a team, isn't it, dear?"
"I've heard good things about Ijuuin-san's teamwork," her husband chuckles, in reply.
"Kimi-san is very good to me," Yua smiles, and the way she leans into him seems entirely natural. (Just pretend he's Miho, she tells herself, though the scent's all wrong.) "I'm able to see a doctor every week to make sure I'm all right, thanks to him... we even have a nurse I can call if I'm worried." It's not thanks to him. He gets the credit, anyway.
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Hanae warbles. "So, so? This is your first, right? Are you hoping for a girl, or a boy?"
"That's right, our very first," Yua smiles, warmly. "I'm praying for a boy... it's really very likely." That's what the screening blood test suggested... but Yua prays to the Hinukan, anyway. Kimitake is all smiles, beside her; he's a great actor, too.
She hasn't told him about the blood tests. He's not welcome in her antenatal care; that's Miho's business.
"Oh, that's wonderful... it's always special when your first child is a boy, isn't it, dear?" Hanae asks, turning to her husband. "Like our lovely Rumito... oh, but you must have a girl after that, there's nothing better than doing their hair!" She taps a hand to her cheek, as she asks: "How many are you hoping for?"
Again, Kimitake answers before Yua's hesitation can catch up. "Of course, we're hoping to have a big family... I had four siblings, so I'm sure we can manage at least five!" He laughs, good-naturedly, but...
... Yua's smile has grown more complicated. "Maybe," she adds, her own presence smaller. "Hiroki's been really hard on me, so... um..."
Hanae, sensing the lack of unity, cuts in to help her younger counterpart at once. "Oh, you've already chosen a name! How darling! What does it mean, Ijuuin-san?"
"It's another way to pronounce my family name!" Yua volunteers, her cheer returning at once.
But Kimitake remembers, even after the conversation moves back to more useful topics. And when lunch comes around... Yua's barely picking at her meal. It's only when Jurou jokingly asks if he ought to be concerned that she makes the effort to eat normally, prompted by a nudge of Kimitake's foot. It's a terrible mistake which sends her scrambling up to excuse herself -- and leaves their guests looking legitimately concerned, with Kimitake having to explain away an offensive and embarrassing situation. Yua apologises profusely when she returns, and they delicately avoid commenting on her intake, after that. They know just why the baby's hard on her, now, and in Japan that simply isn't done.
Still, the food is delicious, and the couple leave warmly enough... though Kimitake's grasp tightens, around her waist, as he steers her back inside. He releases her, when the door's closed, stepping back.
"Next time," he says, his displeasure measured and controlled, "please try not to embarrass me, Yua-san. Hademoto-san holds an impressive position, and I was hoping to secure his recommendation."
"I'm sorry," Yua says, looking down. "I can't help it..."
"I know," he sighs, "but surely you have medication?"
"Um, kind of... just, it doesn't always..." Yua starts, nervously.
"If it doesn't work, you need to get something which does," Kimitake insists. "It's not just for your health, it's for the baby's, too."
"I know..." Yua pouts, because he doesn't know how hard finding the thing which works is, especially when eating is harder for her when she's stressed. (... but of course, managing stress is a mother's duty, too. And if she wasn't putting him at risk on the battlefield... but what else is she to do?)
"All that aside," he says, pushing past her thoughtful silence as he smooths his short hair back, "why did you contradict me about our plans for the family? I thought we discussed this..."
"We... we did," Yua says, still not quite able to meet his gaze. "But... mm..."
He's lost his patience with her evasiveness, as he tells her, stern: "Look at me, Yua-san."
"Nn..." Yua hums, her face turning aside. "Uh-uh --" -- and she might have been able to explain to him that eye contact is just way too confronting, right now, when she's dealing with all these bad feelings over disappointing him and being a bad mother, except that he reaches out and grasps her jaw to forcibly turn her face back to him.
"I said," he says, and his voice is still measured but his grip is, too, "look at me." And when Yua does, her eye is wide with fear -- though what she doesn't expect to see is concern, in his knit brow.
"Thank you," he says, his hand dropping back to his side. "I'm concerned, Yua-san... we had an arrangement. Do you expect me to raise Miho's child as my own with nothing to show for it myself?"
"N--no!" Yua shakes her head, her hands clasping over each other, thumb worrying at the side of her fingers. "It's just, I -- eating is so hard now, and they're saying I'll have problems with my blood, and, and I hurt, and I get dizzy when I move wrong so dancing is hard, and it's really hard on my feet, and..."
"Isn't this what you wanted?" He asks, one arm folding across his chest to grasp his elbow, as he gestures. "They told me you had a binder. You must have known what it would really be like."
"I did -- I do!" Yua insists, her voice rising with her desperation. "I do want this, I really do! I just, I didn't know I'd be scared to eat at all, and when I think of doing it again, I get really scared, I--!"
"Calm down," he urges her, his voice gentling, as he takes her by the shoulder and ushers her back to his couch. "Let's sit. Here," he passes over a box of tissues, and she takes one, her hands trembling, to dab at her eyes and sniffle.
"I-I'm sorry," Yua hiccoughs, grasping the tissue in her hands. "I know I said I'd do it, but..."
"I'd never force you to do something you didn't want to do," Kimitake lies, as easily as he breathes. "But we did have a deal. You would receive the safety of our name, and you would offer your body to the family in turn. If you don't feel you can uphold your end of the arrangement, I'll get you a divorce lawyer to help you through the paperwork... the last thing I want to do is trap you here, Yua-san."
... he's reassuring her, so why does she feel so sick and dirty?
"I -- I can't -- I don't want that," Yua manages to choke out, after a moment, a hand laying protectively over her belly. "If Hiroki doesn't have a father, life will be really hard for him... a-and I do want to be part of Mimi's family, I do! I... I'm sorry," she says, biting at her painted lip. "I wasn't thinking through what I said at all, I should have a little more discipline... m-maybe it will be easier the second time, I don't know..."
"I'm sure you'd regret it if you reneged on our agreement," Kimitake reasons with her, soothingly. "You're a fine wife, Yua-san. You wouldn't act that selfishly." He pauses, delicately. "If I may be so forward... have you spoken to Miho-san about this?"
"Nn-nuh," Yua shakes her head, sniffling again. "We were... I mean, we're gonna... but..."
"She... would probably be upset to hear you saying you weren't sure about our arrangement," Kimitake says, a touch hesitantly. "But... even if talking about our conversation here might be taxing for her, I can't help but feel that there must be some way for you to share your feelings with her? You talk about everything, don't you...?"
"Yeah," Yua nods, morose. There is a pause. "Except..."
"Except?" He prompts, with care and concern.
"She doesn't really tell me what she does with Hasegawa-san... um, but I'm not sure I want to know, either," she adds, all the more miserable. "I guess... maybe that's normal... she feels jealous when she hears about what we do, too. Even though I'm always thinking of her..."
"Mm," Kimitake frowns. "That's true. You don't like men like she does, so this is something you really just have to endure... but I'm sure Miho-san struggles a lot with being away from you, too."
Being reminded that Miho likes men -- that she isn't just struggling through it -- is a bitter comfort, for Yua, though she feels horrible for still feeling horrible a moment later. Miho said she needed to care. Why would she want Miho to be struggling through her dates? If she didn't want it, it would feel just like when Natari --
Yua tears up, again, shoulders shaking. "Y-you think... it feels just as bad for Mimi to hear this stuff?"
"I do," he agrees, reaching out to lay a hand on her shoulder, supportively. "Especially when we don't agree... Miho-san loves her family dearly. She'd really struggle to hear us have that difference in opinion, I think."
"I-I don't want to hurt her," Yua says, and it's stained by the wretched realisation that she surely already has. She threw such a, a tantrum... and it upsets her, to think of it that way, but she's hardly inclined to be kind to herself.
"It's complicated, isn't it?" Kimitake sympathises, handing her another tissue. (Snif.) "Well, maybe that conversation is better to skirt over... but Miho-san would be upset if you kept your difficult feelings from her entirely. She wants to protect you, but she can't protect you from things she doesn't even know about..."
(Like him.)
"But what if she gets mad at Hiroki?" Yua asks, her breath heaving. "S-sometimes -- I get mad at him, and -- and I don't keep him safe and -- I'm a bad mommy!"
"That's not true," Kimitake assures her, stroking at her shoulder, still keeping her at arm's length. "You'll be a wonderful mother. To Hiroki, and to my children, too... can you tell me that?"
"I... I'll be a wonderful mother," Yua replies, waterlogged.
"To?" He prompts.
Yua gulps. "T-to Hiroki..."
"And?" He prompts, again.
"And... and your children," Yua finishes, her shoulders sinking, a little. "Please don't worry, Kimi-san... I'll make it worth your while to protect Hiroki growing up, so..."
"I know you will," Kimitake smiles, supportively. "You just get overwhelmed, I know. It's hard to think straight with all those hormones, isn't it?"
"Yeah..." Yua nods, looking down to her midsection. She's glad he's there to help, isn't she? So why... why does she feel more in danger on his couch than when she was fighting, yesterday? "... I guess I'm really not thinking straight," she adds, half to herself.
"Would you like to lay down?" Kimitake invites her, kindly.
"Nn--" Yua's denial starts vehement, but by the time she gets through the mora, it's more muted. "No, that's okay... I really just want to go home and see Mimi... I want Mimi," Yua insists, more sure of herself, the second time.
"Then let me take you back," he invites, still kind.
And even though Yua's not sure she wants to ride in a car with him, she nods. "... okay."
It's that assent he was searching for.
He needs to know how much she'll accept.
If she'll let him push this far...