- 25 years ago -
Dr. Ryker adjusted his glasses and paced around the office, "You know, now that you mention it, that's the thing about young children. It's incredibly easy for them to contract illnesses and diseases. Some are more susceptible than others. I am quite curious how easy it would be for your newborn to contract something like that. You and your wife are trying to start a family, yes?"
Tenma stopped dialing on his phone and stared at the doctor, narrowing his eyes, "Heinrich... are you threatening my family?" He said each word slowly and sternly, stepping closer to him.
"Who, me? Not at all," He casually picked a piece of lint off of his coat, "I'm just letting you know how... unfortunate life can be, at times. The mother could die during childbirth, or perhaps even before conceiving a child, depending on her condition. Why, just about anything could happen in this crazy world of ours," the side of his mouth twitched and his pupils dilated. There was a somewhat joyful tone to his voice.
"You sick son of a [sonic slicer]... I always knew there was something off with you. But this... you're going to rot in hell!"
"I'm sorry you feel that way. Truly, I am," Dr. Ryker took the phone from his hand and snapped it in half, "I'm sure you've had a very long day, doctor. Go home to your wife. Make sure she's safe. After all, you never know what kind of crazy... ' sons of bitches' are roaming around at night," He was mere inches away from Tenma and with an unwavering and emotionless face, stared right at him.
No happiness. No sadness. Nothing much to describe. Staring into Heinrich's eyes was like sinking into the abyss. Embrace it for too long, and there's no telling if you'd come back the same person... or come back, at all.
2 hours later, in the middle of the night...A red car pulls up to the side of a fairly small, quaint house. A man steps out of the car abruptly and paces to the door.
"Why hasn't he called yet...?" A young woman with short brown hair groans as she slumps in her bed, idly tugging a loose thread on her night gown. She glanced down at her phone, which displayed "14 outgoing calls to Tenma".
Biting her lip, she briefly fooled around with the idea of calling him again, not that she expected a different result, this time around. Still, doing so helped to keep her calm, in a way; perhaps each call conveyed a slight glimmer of hope that he'd pick up. That everything was okay.
Suddenly, she hears the faint echo of a door slamming, startling her. While draping her night gown tighter around her waist, she lightly jogged to the entrance of her bedroom door, peering her head out, "Tenma? Is that you?"
No response.
She slowly walked through the dark hallway and made her way down the steps. However, approaching the front door, she saw no one. Whipping her head around, she stepped into the living room, "T-Tenma, where are you? Is this some kind of joke? You trying to scare me or something? Ha ha ha," She clapped her hands apathetically, "Well, it ain't working!"
Her pounding heart betrayed her words as she looked around the house, slowly creeping around the edges of the doors to see if someone was there. She attempted to turn on the light switch with a trembling hand, only to promptly remember their fuse has gone out earlier. Another sound emitted from upstairs; it sounded as if something fell to the floor.
Pausing in place, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Heh, this is stupid... Why the hell am I shaking in my own house...?"
The brown-haired woman walked back upstairs, making her way to her room through the silent, dark hallway, "Tenma, come on... Seriously, that- that's enough..." Her eyes frantically darted around, her breathing becoming uneven.
The soft scraping of a foot suddenly echoes behind her, followed by a long, heavy sigh.
"
AHH!" She yelped, nearly tripping over herself, a quick turn at the heel to face the person behind her, "Wha- Tenma?" She slaps his arm, "What the hell are you doing, sneaking up on me?!"
Tenma blinks a few times, as if snapping out of a trance, "H-Huh? Oh... I- sorry, April, I didn't mean to sneak up on you," He responded without making eye contact, and instead went to the window and peered outside, his head vigorously scanning the area outside their house.
"Jeez, I nearly had a heart attack. You didn't hear me call your name?"
He continued to look through the window, barley listening and off in his own world, "Yeah... um... yeah..."
April tilted her head at her husband's odd behavior, "Hey, honey? What's wrong... Are you okay?"
He didn't respond, but merely panted heavily as he continued his looming.
April bit her lip and rubbed her arm gently, "Tenma... there's, um... something... we need to talk about..." She scuffed her foot across the ground impatiently and stared at him.
He turned around walked to her, his shirt drenched in sweat and his face seemingly in a constant state of panic, "That will have to wait. Listen to me, April: We have to leave.
NOW." His voice trembled as he squeezed the sides of her arms.
She removed his hands, "Wait, what? What are you talking ab-"
"Please, just-
We have to go! Pack up your stuff, we don't have time!" Tenma ran his fingers through his hair as he glanced through the window, once more.
"Babe, y-you're scaring me here..." She backed away slowly.
He shook his head, "I-I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention. It's just... I'll have to explain later."
April crossed her arms, "Uh, no. You can't just randomly yell
"We have to leave right this instant" like some crazy, rabid person and NOT tell me. I have the right to know, Tenma!"
He stared at his wife, then pressed his back against the wall, sliding to the floor with his hands burying his face, "... I suppose you're right..." He sighed, shaking his head groggily, "It's regarding a man I work with. I promise I'll tell you everything, as soon as I can..."
"As in right now?" She placed a hand on her hip.
He nodded, "Yes, but first... I want to hear what you have to say. You said there was something we had to speak about?"
April's demeanor changed immediately, a warm smile on her face, despite the tense atmosphere her husband has created. She let out a quick, odd sigh, as if she forgot to breathe this entire time, "Yeah, that... well... there's something I need to tell you..."
She slowly reached into her pocket, her smile growing wider and her eyes watering. Tenma squinted at the small, long white object she pulled out, not readily recognizing it;
however, he very soon realized what it was.
Time froze in place. His eyes widened, "Oh my God..."
April giggled as she fiddled with the pregnancy test in her hand, tears falling from her eyes, "Allow me to officially announce that... I'm pregnant!" She bounced happily, eagerly awaiting her husband's response.
Tenma placed his hands over his mouth, "We're going to... ahaha... w-we're having a... baby..." His legs went stiff for a moment. He smiled and embraced his wife, picking her up while spinning her around, "I-I can't believe it!"
For just this moment... everything was fine. There was no threat. However, despite the great news, Tenma knew full well that this made them far more vulnerable. There's no telling what Heinrich would do to them and their baby. If there's anything he's learned, it's that the insane doctor was completely unpredictable.
Tenma needed to tell April everything, and prepare for their departure.