by Lila Mina
Her companion remained silent for a while, staring at their entwined hands. White knuckles and shallow breaths betrayed both women’s agitation.
“Please forgive my outburst. I would do the same in your stead,” Yuki began, and Lana’s heart clenched at the tears and storm of emotions shining in her eyes. “From the bottom of my heart, I assure you this fills me with happiness. We cannot have children, to my great sorrow. We tried, and tried, but we had to give up. We need to figure out so many things, overcome so many obstacles, but I will welcome this child. Yes, I do have a duty this household and our clan, but there are limits to what he may ask of me. Above all, you are dear to me. I will not fail you, I’ll take care of you. Both of you. Please, don’t go. Stay.”
Tears blurring her sight, Lana touched the ground with her brow. “Forgive me for… not trusting you...”
Yuki forced Lana to straighten up. “No, don’t bow to me in such a way, I’m not him,” she chided her kindly.
Another lengthy silence stretched between them. While Lana’s anxiety had somewhat lessened, her throat still ached. She had yet to tell a certain man he was going to be a father. Someone who had been painfully clear on what he expected from their relationship, and that had not included being the mother of his first born.
“Do you think goshujin sama will be pleased by the news?” Lana probed carefully.
“Yes, he will be delighted to become a father.”
Her words soothed Lana only to a certain point. Becoming a parent was one thing, but what about their own relationship, and the rationale behind it? What about his expectations, and specific needs? Would he look elsewhere?
Stop right here! I shouldn’t be even bothered by this idea! But here I am, totally compromised. What a fucking mess!
Yuki gave her a warm and encouraging smile. “Let’s fix dinner. Goshujin sama will be home soon, we can greet him with this great news when he arrives. We will finish our work in the garden tomorrow.”
Back inside, Yuki chuckled while taking off her apron and washing her hands. “Actually… I should have guessed. Your taste has changed, and your breasts have swollen,” she said, mischief dancing in her eyes.
Putting her tray on the kitchen counter, Lana blushed. “It’s true, my bras are a little too tight now, but as for the rest…”
Yuki rounded up on Lana and firmly pushed her against the table, catching her partner by surprise. Slender fingers caressed her neck, a hungry mouth zeroed on her lips, and a hand slipped under her skirt.
“I will show you,” Yuki growled in Lana’s mouth. “You are even sweeter than before, neko chan. The coming months are going to be… a feast.”
Lana let herself slip into her familiar role; with this explosive news, her mistress needed to reaffirm her position inside the household toward her. It shouldn’t have been so easy to relent, but still, there she was, closing her eyes and moaning as the sparkles of pleasure lit by Yuki's lithe fingers began to stroke her fire.
“Oh yes, oku sama, please… please, let me taste myself in your mouth… I will cum hard for you…” To their delight, they had found out their arousal was increased tenfold with dirty talking, explicit words and instructions. Whenever it was just the two of them, they indulged in it thoroughly, a sharp departure from their daily life and normal interactions.
“Oh yes, you will,” Yuki whispered, bringing two fingers to Lana’s mouth. She licked them clean hungrily. “But first, I want you to worship my pussy properly. On your knees,” she ordered sternly.
Lana didn’t waste one second, and kneeled on the kitchen’s floor, unzipping her mistress’ slacks and pulling down her black panties. She pressed her mouth against her lover’s core to lap and nibble at her nether lips and clit. A breathy moan rewarded her right away, followed by Yuki’s hand grinding her pussy against her face.
“You’ve become so good at it, neko chan… hm… faster now, faster, yes… just there…. Ah! That’s it, I want to feel your hot tongue inside me, come on now, I know you love this, fuck me with it!” More than happy to oblige, Lana began thrusting inside. Her companion’s pussy turned soaked, and juices gushed over her chin.
“Ah yes! Yes… quick now, like this!” Yuki exclaimed, burying her fingers in Lana’s hair. Her hips bucked against her mouth to increase her sensations. A violent orgasm shook Yuki from head to toes and she came hard in Lana’s mouth. Her lover lapped and sucked all that she could.
Not losing one second, Yuki fell on her knees, pushed Lana backward, pulled up her dress and inserted three fingers in her sub’s slick pussy. Against the kitchen floor, Lana arched her back when delight ripped a scream from her throat.
“Ah, oku sama… ah your hand... perfect!”
“Hmm, yes, you love that, you love when I take you like that. So naughty, so eager... Give me your cum, neko chan, give me your precious love juices, give yourself to me,” Yuki urged her sub, her free fingers going up under Lana’s white shirt to twist a tender nipple.
“Yes… yes… oh… I’m cumming, cumming… for you oku sama, for you...” Lana let out another throaty shout, before squirting over her mistress’ hand. Yuki quickly put her mouth at the source of the flowing stream and didn’t stop her scissoring.
“Oh yes, so delicious… you are such a treasure…” She spoke with a hunger that never ceased to amaze Lana. When her body finally stopped shaking, Yuki laid over her, stroking her hair and leaving soft kisses on her jaw. “I am so grateful you are in our lives, Lana san, and even more to know that this family will grow soon thanks to you,” Yuki whispered in her ear.
Lana cupped Yuki’s cheek. Their new reality crashed in, and she turned serious. “I hope… I hope I will not disappoint you, oku sama.”
“Hush now. Disappointment is part of life and human relations. We are all adults, and we can always find ways and solutions.”
Lana sighed. There’s so much I want to tell you… when will I find the courage…?
Right then, voices resonated from the entrance hall. Both women exchanged horrified looks: Honda had not come home alone. They jumped on their feet to put back their clothes in order in a hurry. Lana grabbed a tissue box, and they cleaned up each other’s face approximately.
“Daughter, are you here?” They blanched. No way they were going to tell Nakazawa now, and even less show him, what this was all about.
“Yes, otoh sama, I am here, I am coming…” Yuki hurried toward the entrance to greet the newcomers. Lana followed, but remained two steps behind; it wasn’t her place to be next to Yuki. Honda and Nakazawa were in the genkan, removing their shoes. In the doorway, three salarymen in their forties waited for their turn to come in.
“Goshujin sama, otoh sama, welcome back.” Yuki kneeled and bowed in respect to welcome the party.
“Good afternoon, Yuki san,” Honda replied. “Let me introduce you to three new managers of the Ikebukuro and Marunouchi branches of Nakazawa Holdings, Takeda san, Abe san and Takeshita san. I have invited everyone for dinner tonight, please prepare what is necessary.”
“With pleasure. Please come in, welcome to our humble house.” Yuki provided the visitors with slippers, unfazed by this impromptu dinner for seven people thrown on her lap without any prior notice. “I will prepare the reception room right away.”
Honda turned to Lana, who was waiting to be acknowledged. “Martin san, go and prepare the dojo. Our guests are also aikidoka, and we will do one hour of training before dinner. You will lead the warming-up exercises.”
Her lowered face hid her shock. It was a great honor for a mudansha. At the same time, she wanted to be extra careful with practice from now on. She would need to come with an excuse before being able to explain the situation to Honda.
“Yes, Sensei.”
She jumped back on her feet only to regret it right away. Her head swam, and nausea once again assaulted her. She hoped it looked like a simple case of clumsy balance, but Honda’s piercing glare rested heavily on her neck when she took her leave.
&nbs
p; Back in her room, she changed into her dogi. A new sports bra would be a good idea; that one was already becoming too tight. She tied her obi lower than usual. Even though there was nothing to see yet, there was no need to apply too much pressure.
Passing by the kitchen, she gulped down a banana and a glass of water to appease her queasy stomach. Next, she ran to the dojo’s side room to take out large-sized dogi kept precisely for such occasions. She couldn’t presume the ranks of the visitors, so she set aside white belts next to three pairs of dark blue hakama. Afterward, it was time to clean the tatami.
Lana had just finished sweeping the floor when Honda strolled in, dashing in his snow-white dogi and black hakama. Oddly enough, this stole her breath away, and she busied herself with the cleaning rags and water bucket to hide her betraying blush. Her wacky hormones seemed to enjoy making her overly appreciative of him at the worst of times. The three Nakazawa employees came in right behind him to pick up their dogi and change in the side room.
Honda sat in seiza in front of her as she hung the wet rags to dry. “Lana san, what is wrong today?”
Lana glanced briefly over his shoulder; to her relief, everyone was outside hearing range.
“My apologies, I will need to take it easy during practice tonight. Due to… a medical condition.”
Honda frowned. “What is it? You can train with a fever and a broken toe.”
Blood rushed to her face, and she focused on the rags. That had been two weeks before her second-kyu test. He wasn’t supposed to notice.
“It’s a women's issue.” Hopefully, it would be enough to appease his curiosity. She didn’t know yet how to disclose the explosive news, but it had to be done as carefully as possible.
His quirked eyebrow told her he wasn’t buying it. “It usually doesn’t stop you.”
Lana pinched her lips. Right, of course you would know when that happens. Please, just for once, can you back off and make my life easier? “No, usually it doesn’t,” she retorted, blood starting to boil. With a deep scowl, he opened his mouth to bark something when the three guests approached them, kneeled and bowed respectfully.
“Sensei, our apologies for keeping you waiting, we are ready.”
Honda grunted and rose on his feet. “Martin san, please proceed.”
She bowed, and swiftly sat in seiza at the front of the dojo, waiting until everyone faced her. To her relief, one of the men was also a mudansha. From the corner of her eye, she caught the sight of Nakazawa entering the dojo and sitting by the entrance. According to Yuki, he was a 6th dan in kendo and a 7th dan in iaido. This improvised session increasingly looked like another way to test the new managers.
“Mokuso!” Lana called in a clear, strong voice, asking everyone to focus and meditate. After a few breaths, she turned in direction of the portrait of O’Sensei and bowed to the ground, knowing everyone followed. Then she faced again the small group and saluted again. “Let’s begin the warming-up exercises, onegaishimasu.”
6 Anxious yet Hopeful
For the next fifteen minutes, Lana focused on her task, enjoying the respite from the nervous turmoil assailing her. As the warming-up was quite similar to yoga, there wasn’t any particular discomfort or physical limits. Eventually, training began, and Honda took the lead.
The familiar moves and sensations were welcome and helped her setting aside her troubled thoughts. Halfway through, Honda chose her to be his uke for his demonstration of katate dori irimi nage. The second time he grabbed her collar and pulled her from behind, after making her turn violently on herself, the world swam around her. She rose slowly onto her feet.
“What is wrong with you today?” Honda muttered. Taking the fall for this technique was usually not a problem.
“My apologies.” She struggled to catch her breath. “I am… dizzy all of a sudden.” Rather, about to puke on your hakama.
“Go and sit this one out,” he grunted, displeased.
Lana sat next to Nakazawa who glanced at her quizzically. She tried to calm down her galloping heartbeat. Taking irimi seemed to be out for now; for sure, any similar throw would end up like this. In such a debilitating state, she could kiss her first-kyu exam goodbye. The idea made her want to cry.
Next was yokomen uchi shiho nage. This one was manageable; the fall wasn’t as violent as with irimi. She rejoined the group and began with the other mudansha. After the mandatory switch of partners, however, she ended up with Honda. As it was a fourth-kyu technique she was supposed to handle by now, he was particularly unforgiving with her execution.
“Your foot! It should be pointing inward. Your back! Don’t lean backward, but crouch and lean forward, your hands in front of you! Move your hips, not your arms!”
If being his nage was a challenge for her nerves, being his uke was physically hard. He brought her down in a blink, not bothering with much restraint.
“Get up!” he grumbled, his flimsy patience evaporating.
Between two gasps, Lana tried to slow things down. “Sensei… it’s a bit hard for me today…”
With no comment, he threw her again on the mats. For a second, she wished staying flat on her back and sleeping were an option. But of course, they weren’t. Swearing under her breath, she scrambled to stand up, this time as nage. Except for their safe word, there wasn’t much that fazed him nowadays, and calling ‘red’ on the mats with people around was not an option.
For the next technique, Honda decided to switch to tateki-geiko to allow their three guests to train together at the same time in this particular defense against multiple attackers. Once again, Lana partnered up with him. As they were only two, nage was free to use whatever technique they wished, depending on the random attack picked by their partner.
On his second side strike to her head, she defended with kotegaeshi, twisting his hand outward harshly, and used nikyo to immobilize him. She locked his elbow and wrist over his back and turned her hips toward his ear to increase the pressure on his joints. Madness — or childish revenge — struck her.
“I’m pregnant,” she whispered in his hair. He turned as stiff as a board under her hands. Heart pounding, she released him and retreated to a safe distance, mentally slapping herself.
And the award for the stupidest move of the year goes to…
Time came to a still, and she forgot their surroundings, focusing on him. It took him forever to stand up and face her again. Speechless, he stepped closer, eyebrows lost in his hairline. Panic surged, and she broke the awkward and tense moment with a front sliced attack, which came too close for comfort to hit him on the top of the head.
His training kicked in at the last second, and he defended himself with a simple, yet terribly efficient ikkyo ura that sent her flying stomach first to the floor, her arm twisted like a maki roll. She barely broke her fall with her other hand and tapped quickly. But while he released some pressure, he pressed her elbow to the ground, effectively preventing her from getting up.
“What is this?” he uttered in her hair. “A tasteless joke to test my patience?”
You ass! How can you even think I would do this?
She slammed again the floor with a growl. He had no choice but release her before they drew unwanted attention. Yuki’s comforting assurances vanished. Only a hollow feeling of loss and bitterness remained.
Lana was up in a second; it took all she had to school her reaction. Fiery anger swept away gut-wrenching anxiety. The aggravation flashing on Honda’s face told a similar story. It was his turn to attack, and he grabbed both her hands, pulling hard, until they ended up nearly chest to chest. Such a move made it particularly difficult for her to defend herself given his bear-like strength.
“No, never! Do you think I’d joke about something like this?” Lana rasped, not bothering to hide her disgust.
Honda’s eyes turned saucer-wide when the truth struck him. He lost his focus, and his grip weakened, offering her the opening she needed. A powerful hip twist unbalanced him and a well-executed shiho nage ur
a threw him on the floor, arm bent unnaturally behind his shoulder. Lana applied enough pressure to generate true discomfort and waited until he tapped twice.
“I don’t care what you decide, I’m having this baby,” she vowed in another angry whisper, before releasing her grip and sitting on her knees.
Honda rolled back and mirrored her posture. Face unreadable, he clapped his hands. “Owarimasu!” His bark signaled the end of the practice hour.
The group sat again in line while he walked to the front, bowed to pay respect to the Founder, and then to everyone else. The three guests rushed to grab a broom. Lana followed suit to avoid being stuck with him. Disappointment and sadness whirled inside her.
Nakazawa had caught up with his son-in-law, probably to discuss his opinion on the performance of his new employees. As soon as everything was clean, she quickly paid her respect to the dojo and took her leave. Time to figure out her next steps.
How could I be so dumb? Spilling everything out like this — what the hell did I think would happen?
But maybe it had been for the best. She had caught him off guard. He hadn’t had the time to come up with an excuse or pretend being glad. Drenched with sweat, she took off her belt and her dogi jacket, before falling heavily on her futon. The Zen section of the garden outside her room would bring no respite tonight.
Another wave of nausea hit her, and she reclined on her back, hands on her naked belly. It was unhealthy to be so stressed, for herself but also for the little one. She was responsible for someone else now. And she had to make sure his hyper-controlling highness got it. The “red” line had just moved, regardless of her own preferences, of his wishes. Possibly to an “off-limit” stage.