Chapter 4 – Arguments and Fears

Kumatora had been living with Duster for two months now and her old home had become vacant, waiting for someone new to occupy it. She was in her room, getting dressed into an outfit similar to the hoodie she normally wore but it was a dress. Even thought the princess wore one while under the guise of Violet in Club Titiboo, she still hated them with a passion. What made it even worse is that she had to wear them just about all the time now since her old clothes were starting to become too snug. The morning sickness had finally stopped but she now had a new set of problems. Her back had all ready began to hurt from the extra weight she was carrying and she had to go more often that she would have liked. However, she did make sure she was taking good care of herself and the baby. 

Duster was doing his share too. He made sure everything was comfortable for her and helped her out when she needed it, much to her dismay. Once in a while Lucas would stop by to see how his friends were doing. Today he was just hanging out with them because there was nothing else to do.  They didn’t mind because after all, he was their friend. Boney lay down by Lucas’s feet as he watched Kumatora going through the cupboard where the food was kept.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Looking for something to eat but nothing just sounds good,” she responded.

“Is there anything in particular you want?” Duster asked as he was putting away a couple of books. 

“Some yogurt would be nice.”

“All right.”

“Oh, and some fish too.”

“Fish!?” the two males questioned.

“Yeah. You got a problem with that?” she asked angrily.

“No…” the thief responded. Lucas just shook his head as a reply.

“That’s good to hear. Oh, wait. Never mind, I found some. I forgot to check in here.” Both were kept in the icebox, which was located by the cupboard. Kumatora had made sure it stayed cold with the use of PK Freeze until winter time when ice was easily available. Even in her current condition, using PSI techniques took little effort physically and placed no stress on the unborn child. Taking both out, she quickly cooked the fish using PK Fire, combined it with the yogurt, grabbed a spoon and began to eat it.

How can she EAT that? Lucas thought, a bit disgusted.

“What are you staring at? It’s not like you haven’t ever seen me eat before.”

He didn’t want to say anything. Kumatora wasn’t one to control her anger well and the hormones didn’t help much either. To be safe, Lucas stayed silent and looked away. 

“Whatever…” She turned around to go relax for a bit but she wasn’t paying attention and ended running up into a chair. As a result, some of the yogurt and fish ended up right on Duster’s shirt.

“Oops, sorry about that,” she apologized.

“It’s all right. It was an old shirt anyways,” Duster responded, wiping some of it off. The thief left the room went to put a new one on. Since it was no problem, she made no mind of what just happened and sat down in the chair she almost tripped on.

Boney lifted his head to see what was going on and spotted the spilled food on the ground. Hmm…. The dog quickly sniffed at it but ended up gagging a bit. Eww… why was she eating this stuff?

“I know it’s a bit weird but for some reason I like it,” Kumatora stated.

Duster returned to the room with a new shirt on and sat down across the room in another chair.

“I was thinking. Since it’s been several months now since the whole incident, we should start getting things ready for the baby.”

“Why? It won’t be here for a while.”

“It never hurts to prepare.”

“But it’s too early. Everything will just be getting in the way.”

“I didn’t really think about that. This place is starting to get a bit crowded.”

“That’s because you haven’t kept this place neat enough.”

“Well, sorry. I’ve been preoccupied, you know.”

“I have been too. I would do it myself but I’m in no condition to do so.”

Duster was feeling skeptical about what she had just said. “Sounds like you’re just taking advantage of this.”

“I am not!” Kumatora shouted at him.

“I thought you kind of were…” Lucas added in, a bit nervous.

“Who asked you?!”

“…sorry…”

“Kumatora…”

“He butted in when he didn’t need to.”

“But still, you didn’t need to yell at him.”

She angrily stared at him as a response and went back to her concoction. Lucas just sat there, confused. It wasn’t like them to fight like this. Sure arguments would happen between all of them from time to time but this one was a bit insignificant. It was just a small problem and they made it sound like it was the end of the world again.

Eventually, the princess and the thief got into a disagreement over just about everything. About the house, about every little thing each other did, even about each other. It seemed as if they were always at each other’s throats. One thing that bugged either one of them turned into a giant dispute in a matter of seconds. Sometimes it would be like “Pick this up before I trip” or “where the heck did you put it?” and other times it was like “You shouldn’t be doing that” or “You should be doing this instead.” Lucas had no choice but to stay out of the way because every time he tried to help, he would end up being yelled at or ignored.

- - - - - - - - - - -

After a week of nonstop arguing, Kumatora had a hard time sleeping at night, often tossing and turning while trying to get comfortable. When she did drift off into slumber, it was an uneasy one filled with strange dreams. One was especially unnerving one night when it was unseasonably warm.

The princess found herself in a dark room that looked quite similar to her own room. The strange thing was that she was back to her normal self. In the corner of the room sat a small cradle, rocking slowly. As Kumatora approached it slowly and a small ball hiding underneath a blanket slightly moved. She uncovered it and expected to see a child but instead was greeted by a creature the sent shivers down her spine. It reminded her of the Ultimate Chimera with its glowing yellow eyes, sharp teeth and reddish skin. The Ultimate Chimera-like creature turned around in her direction, roared fiercely, and went after her. Before she was mauled, everything went dark.

Kumatora quickly woke up in a cold sweat, panting. She quickly uncovered herself and looked over her body. Nothing missing, nothing torn, everything was fine. Duster was still fast asleep in the other room, unaware of what happened. 

“Good. It was just a dream,” she sighed in relief. She slowly opened the door and leaned against the side of the house, still in her pajamas. “It seemed so real. I hope it won’t become a regular thing...” The half-full moon lit up the night sky as she gazed at the stars. The door suddenly opened her friend came outside.

“What are you doing out here?” the thief asked.

“Bad dream…about chimeras. I just needed some air.”

“You need any company?”

“I don’t care.”

Duster approached Kumatora and stood next to her. They stayed quiet for a few minutes when the thief broke the silence. “I want to ask you something.”

“Okay, shoot.”

 “When you were hiding out from everyone, how were you really feeling about the whole baby thing?”

“I was just afraid. Afraid that I would never be the same person again, that I would have to give up everything that defined me. I guess I was also being a bit selfish but you came to check on me every day, make sure everything was okay.”

Looks like dad was right after all, Duster thought.

“I guess I just had to accept the fact that I was going to be a mother,” she sighed. 

He put his arm around his friend’s shoulder and moved a bit closer to her. “Just remember, you won’t be going through this alone. I am the child’s father after all.”

“You said that before.”

“I know and I mean it. I just wanted to make sure that you knew that.”

Kumatora smiled and gave him a small peck on the cheek.

“What was that for?” he asked while blushing.

“It was a thank you. Can’t a girl thank her closest friend without being asked why?”

“Not when that girl doesn’t really act like one.”

“Okay, you got a point there but still I want to thank you for all that you have doing for me. I’m kind of sorry for all of the yelling too.”

“That’s all right. You’re bound to be a bit more sensitive.”

“Hey!”

Me and my big mouth… “We should get back inside and go back to sleep.”

“Nah. I’d rather just stay out here for a bit longer. You can stay out here too if you want.”

“All right.”

A cool breeze blew by and a few leaves passed by the moon. The stars’ twinkling seemed to be telling her that everything was going be all right. The two stayed outside for a few more minutes before they finally decided to go back to bed. Hopefully everything would be better in the morning.