Natalya sighed as she watched the car disappear around the corner at the end of the driveway. It had been a very tough few months since they moved to Japan for her, and she knew it was for Erica as well. At first, it had seemed like a dream come true. They were living in the land of her beautiful wife's birth, making a new life for themselves and their daughter to be. They would spend the days with Erica showing Natalya all about Japan, and their evening's cuddling in front of the TV, each without a care in the whole world. Her life had seemed perfect at that time, and even though Erica had to work and go away a lot, the kisses she would give always reassured Natalya, always told her everything was alright.

But that had all changed after a while. The kisses became shorter and shorter, until eventually she would leave with little more than a peck on the cheek...just like today. Natalya would sigh longingly as she sat alone all day, wondering where she went wrong and how she could fix things, dreaming that it would be better when the baby came.

Once Erica was gone for the day - and where she was, Natalya never knew, she didn't like to pry - she waddled to the couch, sitting down as she waited for the kettle to boil. She looked sad, empty almost. She never doubted that Erica loved her, but in the past few weeks it had been so weird between the two. It was like Erica had a secret, and Natalya was too scared to ask what. She wanted to trust her wife. As the kettle clicked finished, she stands labouredly and walks toward the kitchen, only to stop in her tracks when the door is knocked. They never had visitors. Was Erica back? ad she forgot her keys again. Natalya grimaces and walks towards the door with her hand on her spine. She peers through the peephole cautiously, worried about it not being Erica. Who else would be visiting them so far out of town. She sees the curious little Japanese man stood there - a man she had never seen before. "Hello...?" she asks in her heavy accented voice. She was much too cautious and protective to open the door without him identifying himself first.

Natalya chuckled a little when she saw the reaction of the curious looking little man on the other side of the door. Of course, being tall, blonde and striking as she was, she had been approached and spoken to by many nervous guys. She was used to it by now. This one looked particularly geeky and funny to Natalya, and she immediately felt a little safer that someone so quiet and timid, a neighbour, wanted to come say hello. Besides, he had brought tea, and the kettle had just boiled after all - it seemed rude to just turn him away now. She opens the door at last and smiles a little as she reveals herself to him. "Hello, Takeshi?" she said, holding her hand out to him. "It is so sweet of you to say hello. I have never seen you around. My wife and I, we didn't know who lived over there. Oh sorry...I am being rude. My name is Natalya. Would you like to come in for some tea?"

Natalya smiles at the way he jumps. In the past she would have pounced on the power she held over a man like this, but times had changed. Now she was married, and soon to be a mother, she felt much less evil and more caring. The fact he was so nervous around her was sweet in many ways, and she smiled warmly when he smiles back. When he stares at the ground, she was a little unnerved, but he seemed like a bit of an oddball, one of these loners who loved his games and comic books - totally harmless. "Thank you, I love your name also. It is very traditional. I am trying to learn all about your country since I came to live here." She takes the tea and smiles at him. She wasn't an expert on tea, that was more Erica's area to deal with. "Thank you, you are very kind to us," she says quietly, closing the door behind him and pointing to the kitchen. It was nice to have someone else around - she often felt lonely - besides, Takeshi seemed like a sweet guy. "Oh she is? I am sorry to hear she is sick," Natalya looks down. "Maybe I should visit her sometime?"

Natalya smiles at Takeshi and walks towards the kitchen. She laughs at his joke. In truth, she had never met anyone who looked less fierce than he. "Awww then maybe your name doesn't suit you. You are much too sweet to be fierce." She giggles a little and puts the tea down on the counter as she starts to prepare two cups. "Oh...we don't fit in as well as you might think. A white girl gets a lot of abuse sometimes...and I'm so tall I always stand out," she smiles. His eye contact makes her feel a little uneasy, only momentarily though. Natalya was used to men staring at her by now. "Thank you," she blushes. As she pours the tea, she looks over at where he is gazing. "Your mother is asleep now?" she asks innocently.

"I'm sure your mother loves you the way you are. Why would she want a fierce man when she could have one so nice and caring to bring gifts to his neighbours?" She sets a cup of tea down in front of him and puts a hand to her back as she feels a little pain. It was normal for her to feel a little sore now, so she was glad to have someone around to talk to like this, to help keep her mind occupied. She couldn't wait until her daughter was born, and meeting new people helped pass the time when Erica wasn't around - wherever she went. She blushes a little when he compliments her. "Oh, no. Where I come from these looks are as common as mud. Everyone looks like me," she smirks. It was hard not to notice the looks she sometimes drew in Japan. "All the time? what is her illness? If that's not too intrusive."

Natalya watches takeshi as he stirs his tea. She could feel that he was perhaps hiding something about his self, but she wasn't sure what. Maybe there were things he didn't want her to know, but she figured that was normal for a guy of his age living with his mother. "Yes....very pregnant. It should not be long. Maybe one week or less," she smiles. "I cannot wait. It seems like forever and still I have not met her. I just know I will love my baby so much," she says, holding her bump with her free hand. She laughs nervously at his comment about her eyes again. He seemed to like them a lot. "Yes...maybe one day you should visit there. You would love it," she jokes with him. "So many pretty girls there." When he lies about the cancer, she finds it very odd. It was obvious, but she didn't want to push the issue. For all she knew his mother was seriously ill and that can't be easy to deal with.

Natalya doesn't notice Takeshi watching her as she concentrates on her bump, rubbing it gently. She wished Erica was here to share these last few days of pregnancy with her. At least now she knew that if she went into labour though, there would be someone here to help her, now that Takeshi had come over. She smiles when he says she would make a good mother. "Thank you so much. that is sweet," she says quietly. He was lucky that her occasionally poor English had failed to pick up on his rather sinister error. "Stuck? Oh come on," she giggles. "I am sure you love your mother very much, right? You must to live out here with her." She could see he was getting a little agitated, however. "You are...ok, Takeshi?" she asks.

Natalya shakes her head a little. She was about to scold him for hating his mother, but then she realised they had something in common. "I hate my mother also. She is not accepting that I live with a girl rather than a man." She listens to him talk about this Sailor Moon and she looks confused. "Who is Sailor Moon...? Maybe your mother did not know why it was a special collection?" she asks, feeling a little uneasy when he says she is what he wants to have. He seemed to have fixated on her looks, and Natalya was getting a different vibe from him now. He seemed different and a little obsessed, but she put it down to his lack of contact with women and the fact he must like her. "Have? Well...this is flattering, but I have a wife and I cannot date someone else. Even someone so sweet," she jokes, trying to make the tension disappear. Takeshi seemed annoyed, and she didn't want him to be.

Natalya looks at Takeshi with a strange expression, trying to work out what he was saying. As he got more annoyed, seemingly, his English got more laboured and difficult to understand, much like her own, but she still wanted to be friends. "I will make a good one," she says softly. "I just can't wait to see my daughter." For all that he was creeping her out, Natalya still just saw him as a bit of a weird guy, and she was trying her best with him. "She sounds...lovely," Natalya says, now a little scared at how excited and frantic he seemed. When he stands, despite being a good way shorter than she, Natalya still feels very intimidated at last. She starts to back up a little, covering her stomach with her hand when he nods towards it. "Takeshi, you are scaring me some. Please stop," she says quietly. His reaching inside his jacket made her gasp. "Stop it. Why are you being like this? Tell me what you want," she says loudly, as if making an attempt to regain control of the conversation, of the whole situation.

It's annoyance rather than anger that first washes over Natalya. How dare this little creepy pervert question her relationship with her daughter. "She will not, she will be-" When he shouts, Natalya lets out a little yelp. This wasn't just creepy anymore. It had gone far beyond that point, and he really was scaring her. But that was nothing like what was to come. When he pulls the scissors out, she screams and backs away, holding her hand up. "No!" she yells. "Please stop. I let you in my home, you are nice, Takeshi," she pleads, trying to make him see some sense. Then he says something that chills her to the bone. Her eyes? Natalya feels her knees almost buckle from sheer white terror that flashes across her like a burst of ice water. her instincts tell her to run, and she makes for the door, pushing a chair towards him as she tries to flee, not looking back.